Qlifhat's Tome
by Boyz
Summary: With the power of shadow manipulation, a small town girl ends up meeting The Winter Soldier. Their first encounter was coincidence, but every time after was on purpose. Can she help unravel his hidden past? Will she become an asset to SHIELD, or just another villain that needs to be put down? Can they truly have a normal life? Rate M for language, violence and adult content.
1. Chapter 1

For months, tales and rumors of a new threat to the human race have been circling around the agents of SHIELD. It all started when a small town in Wyoming suddenly erupted in a devastating blaze unlike any other. Instead of scarlet flames and orange flickers, the town was swallowed by a massive fire of black. At the peak of the engulfed and hopeless town, the flames emitted a harsh red smoke, causing even further destruction. Any living creature that inhaled the toxic smoke had their lungs charred within minutes. The vegetation, from lush mountains, sparkling rivers, and open meadows, perished either under the raging black fire or disintegrated from the smoke. Such a blaze has never been recorded in the history of man; naturally, the director at SHIELD immediately set out a squad to investigate. Surrounding the outskirts of the burned town was a specific line. From satellite scans, the fire had remained inside the border; it was the red smoke that was lifted to a longer radius of three miles that caused the most natural disaster. Needless to say, the citizens of the Wyoming town had vanished off of the surface of the earth. All that remained were small ash piles, lining the streets, sitting in chairs, laying in beds, both adult and child. The vehicles were crisped and melted at the tires and fabric interiors. Atop the short buildings were oozing down the support beams and foundations. The asphalt had deep cracks that cut through to the concrete underneath. However, within this desolated town, hidden in the mountains, one survivor was found. Perched on top of the church, a young adult sat, clenching onto a thickly covered book. He was unscaved, completely at peace, soaking in all that remains of the town. As the SHIELD team approached the man, he panicked. According to the reports of every SHIELD agent, the man jumped from the roof, and immediately vanished into the shadow of the holy building. Hence forward, the man from the church was given the codename The Shadow Stranger.

It was difficult for any of the technical operators to finally pick up a trail from him. The Shadow Stranger would appear in bank vault cameras in Chicago, then across the country in less than one hour in Las Vegas, gambling away the stolen money. Every time they were able to just catch a glimpse of him, he would turn a corner and disappear again. Within each glance at The Shadow Stranger, he had the thickly covered book in his hands.

Using a prototype of Project Insight, the obtainment of The Shadow Stranger was the first successful criminal to be caught with its use. There were no massive aircraft carriers to simply shoot and kill him; so Director Fury had hastily put together the best tactical team to arrest him. And, just as The Shadow Stranger emerged from a shadow in an alleyway in Boston, the team easily flanked him and confiscated the book away from him, apparently hindering him powerless. The rest was history. A simple transfer to SHIELD HeadQuarters with a small convoy quickly had The Shadow Stranger within the jurisdiction of Director Fury. The team was given specific orders to not reveal the identity of him, not even remove his trademark bandana or black baseball cap. The secret identity of The Shadow Stranger lingered the entire convoy to Washington D.C., all of the agents eager to finally see who they had been chasing for seven months.

The escort of SHIELD agents held the barrel of their respective gun at The Shadow Stranger as they led him down the maze-like passageway of HQ. With his head down, hands handcuffed behind his back, and chains wrapped around his ankles, he quickly scuttled down the empty hallway. Dim lights hung overhead, simple doorways with odd panels to to each of them, and various pipe sizes ran along the upper corners of the walls; the only sound that seemed to echo for miles was the staggered boot steps of the agents.

At the end of the hallway, the leader of the formation lifted his protective eye goggles and allowed a quick green light to scan his right eye. The corresponding door easily slid open, revealing an authoritative African American male. A black eye patch covered his left eye while a long coat hung from his strong shoulders. His hands were cupped behind his back, given a sense of military training. The Shadow Stranger briefly examined the man before tucking his chin back to his chest. Standing slightly behind the man was a curvy woman with brilliantly bright red hair. A thick utility belt wrapped around her waist fully equipped with two pistols and odd weapons unknown to the prisoner.

"Welcome to your new home," the man said, gesturing his arms outward to display the glass walls around him. "As my gracious agents have informed you, you are now under the authority of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division; otherwise known as SHIELD."

One of the rear agents poked the handcuffed prisoner forward with the barrel of his gun; The Shadow Stranger crossed the threshold and entered his cell. While he shuffled into the glass prison, the two higher ranked agents already in the cell parted to reveal a center table with two chairs. The red haired woman tightly grabbed his forearm and forced him into the chair facing away from the door. Ungracefully, The Shadow Stranger plumped down in the bolted to the ground chair. He was able to hear the door behind him slid shut and made an unnecessarily loud locking sound.

"Pardon her manners," the strong voice of the man carried around the prisoner, indicating the woman's harsh gestures, "You see, she doesn't like people who threaten her country." He sat across the table and leaned back to a relax state. The woman remained standing, crossed arm in between the two.

The Shadow Stranger held his tongue.

"My name is Nick Fury, director of SHIELD. This is Agent Romanoff," he gestured to the woman, "It would be best if you stayed on her good side, from here on out. That means, no tricks, no attempting to escape, and, for God's sake, don't look her in the eye."

He still didn't say anything, barely moving his head to show signs of consciousness.

Fury and Romanoff exchanged irritated expressions, and said nothing. "Inside this transparent prison cell, you will be monitored 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You will not be given a trial for your crimes, a jury of your peers will not decide your faith, and a lawyer will not be appointed to you. In here, what I say is law; if I want the lights to be shut down for three months, the power will immediately cut off. If I want an obnoxious crying baby soundtrack to play for a fortnight, my agents will gladly turn up the volume until it echoes in your dreams. If I want someone to slowly rip out your finger and toe nails, a line of willing agents will form outside of your door. Am I making myself perfectly clear?"

For a third time, the prisoner remained silent. Apparently, that wasn't a rhetorical question.

"Hey!" Agent Romanoff slammed her hands on the tabletop to snap some sense into The Shadow Stranger, "Answer him when he gives you a question," she warned him.

Instead of speaking a response to Director Fury, the prisoner simply nodded his head up and down, careful to not reveal too much of his face under the baseball cap. Agent Romanoff seemed to be pleased enough to lean off of the table, resuming her standby position.

"Now, getting down to business," Director Fury sighed as he flipped a skinny manilla folder onto the table, "This book of your's," he opened it and skimmed through a few photo printouts of the prisoner in various locations, "I've never seen such a thing like it. Raggedy, clearly centuries old, and, I've had the liberty of looking through it, it's completely blank. We've used any and everything to attempt to uncover it's secret value; to no avail. However, it seems that it's precious to you," Director Fury leaned onto the metal and drew closer to the prisoner, "Why is that?"

Remembering Agent Romanoff's warning, the prisoner knew better than to leave one of his questions unanswered. Again, not saying a word, he shrugged his slender shoulders.

Director Fury tilted his head, displaying increased annoyance. Interlacing his fingers together, he continued to interrogate him. "What happened in Mountain Pass, Wyoming? Why were you on the church?"

Another question replied with a weak shoulder shrug.

"I'm getting real tired of your reluctance to answer my questions," the director voiced his anger. "I'm going to ask one more question, if you refuse to vocalize your answer, I won't be accountable for Agent Romanoff's actions," she readied herself by cracking her knuckles and popping her neck; definitely intimidating The Shadow Stranger, however he forced himself to not flinch. "Now listen to me, very carefully," he narrowed his one good eye at the prisoner, "How did you start that fire in Mountain Pass?"

The director gave amble time for The Shadow Stranger to answer; although, he never did. Sighing with fake disappointment, Director Fury reclined back to his shrugged his board shoulders. "Alright, you forced my hand. Agent Romanoff," he glanced to the red haired woman.

"You don't have to tell me twice," she quickly pulled a dagger from her belt and stepped towards The Shadow Stranger. Agent Romanoff twirled the small blade in the air before gripping it firmly. With a heavy foot, she kicked the edge of his chair away and immediately drove the dagger downward. Incredible speed allowed the blade to cut through the air shortly, making a whooshing sound as the sharp weapon was stabbed into the leg of The Shadow Stranger, just above his right knee.

Using all of his might, the prisoner responded accordingly, managing to hold back the urge to scream in agony. Digging his short nails into his palms behind his back, The Shadow Stranger told level deep breaths, resisting the compulsion to cry. Agent Romanoff backed away from the hyperventilating prisoner. Because the blade was perfectly stabbed downward, none of his hot blood spilled on his wore jeans or onto the miraculous floor. He hunched over in pain, heaving his chest in a hopeless attempt to relieve the fresh torment.

"Let's try this again," Director Fury adjusted his legs under the table to a more comfortable position before finishing his sentence, "Perhaps, you can't speak with that ridiculous get-up on your face. Maybe, it's time to finally see what The Monster of Mountain Pass really looks like." He nodded to Agent Romanoff again. The dagger in his leg was crossing the line; instead of continuing to play along with Director Fury and Agent Romanoff's games, The Shadow Stranger quickly devised a plan of escape. He held himself back, waiting for the right moment. The aggressive redhead unsheathed another knife, this time, rather than stabbing it into another limb, she used it to cut the bandana from behind his head, to reveal his face. She pulled the dirty white bandana away to unveil the lower half of his pale face. Once it registered who she was looking at, she stepped back, glancing wide eyed at her director.

"Fury, d-do you see-"

"Oh my God," he gasped quietly.

Now was his chance. As the two gaped at the uncovered prisoner, he focused his hidden abilities to free himself from his handcuffs and ankle chains. Snapping his arms to his front, he quickly slammed his hands on the tabletop to focus his strength. Utilizing the shadows cast by the director and agent, he manipulated them to drag the SHIELD operatives back. Instantly gaining momentum, the shadows pulled Director Fury and Agent Romanoff to the back wall, restraining them above the ground. Their feet were pointed towards the ground, arms extended outward, and tilted heads upright to the ceiling, away from The Shadow Stranger.

While the two struggled to free themselves, their prisoner limped towards the only door, silently growling in pain for every step he took. He knew he couldn't open the door, but that wasn't going to stop him from going through it. One last glance at his pinned capturers, and a thought of revenge creeped into his mind. However, the idea was quickly extinguished as he was reminded of the last time he acted out in such a manner; the end result caused him to become a fugitive. He didn't need another lesson.

Rather than snapping their necks, or applying pressure to their hearts, he simply looked away and lifted his baseball hat off of his head. Long, wavy hair draped over his shoulders and large green eyes were revealed. He tossed the cap onto the table, as a reminder to the operatives, and used his shadow manipulation talents to ease through the door and back into the hallway.

"What is this?" Agent Romanoff growled in self-loathing. "I thought that weirdo book was the source of his abilities?"

"Apparently not," Director Fury answered matter-of-factly, "And why, in the holy hell, is The Shadow Stranger a damn woman?!"

Outside of the glass room, the revealed woman was tempted to walk into another shadow and disappear back to one of her safe houses across the country. The sudden thought of a tracking device in the dagger in her leg made her incredibly paranoid. She had no idea what SHIELD would do to find her again. Of course, it was her own will that she was caught this time; she knew they were looking for her, so she wanted to know what she was up against. Her conclusion; a bunch of crazy, skilled killers. Avoiding them at all costs was her best option. First, she would have to find somewhere to pull the dagger out and stitch up the wound. Keeping the back of her mind on holding Fury and Romanoff pinned to the wall, she began to waddle as fast as she could down the hallway.

She reached the end, only to find that there were two possible ways; left or right. She cursed at herself for not taking enough mental notes of her escort to her cell. Biting her bottom lip, The Shadow Stranger turned down the left way, and prayed that she would find an infirmary. As far as she could, she kept Fury and Romanoff against the wall while she twisted down hallways and getting completely lost. Every time she heard the pitter-patter of approaching agents, she would use one of the many shadows around her to conceal herself. With her bright green eyes, she would quietly wait until they passed or the sound would fade away.

The longer she wandered around aimlessly, the more aching pain pulsated from her lower thigh. Taking deep breaths, in between swearing at Romanoff, she soldiered on. Finding no hospital wing within the maze of passageways, The Shadow Stranger began to contemplate risking to simply returning to a safe house. Before she came to a reasonable decision, she neglected to check another corner before turning down. A squad of five or six SHIELD agents emerged, and immediately found the fugitive.

"Open fire!" One of the agents ordered.

She looked up just in time to see the squad aim their rifles at her. Faster than she should have moved, The Shadow Stranger lunged into the further wall, creating her own shadow portal. Rapidly firing bullets brushed passed her, one grazing her shoulder blade and another skimming her stomach. Ignoring the hot blood oozing from her upper back and her abdominal, she plunged into the wall and into her shadow portal. She was expecting to enter another locked room, buying her a fraction of the time she needed to successfully escape. However, the wall was much thicker than she anticipated. Her portal traveled all the way to the other side, which so happened to be an elevator shaft.

Since The Shadow Stranger essentially jumped through her portal, she became helpless as gravity kicked in. She fell through the square hole, praying that the bottom of the secret elevator shaft would come soon. Luckily, it was just over 20 feet of a straight drop. The impact didn't kill her. She resorted to leaning on the shoulder that was shot, hoping it wouldn't break from her weight.

Once she hit the ground, The Shadow Stranger felt a loud crunching sound. She couldn't hold back any longer; after inhaling adequate air, she screamed in torment. Her body was sore and bleeding. The dagger had shifted, amplifying the pain right above her knee. Laying for a few moments, she allowed salty tears to roll down her thin cheeks. Crying out in distress, she almost hoped one of the SHIELD agents would find her and put her out of her misery. Slightly rolling to one side, she carefully applied pressure to her throbbing shoulder. As tender as it was, she was able to determine that it probably wasn't broken; at least, she desperately wanted it to not be broken.

Grunting and moaning in agony, she forced herself to sit upright. Constant tears streamed down away from her eyes, but she was still able to examine her surroundings. There wasn't wires in the middle of the shaft, so that meant she didn't land on an elevator. Obviously, she was engulfed in darkness, forcing her vision to adjust so she could properly see. As her pupils were dilating, The Shadow Stranger saw a door shut next to her.

"Get up," she gave herself small motivation, "Get up and leave. You're not dying here."

After two attempts of standing, she was successful, to an extent. She relied heavily on the walls around her to keep her upright on her feet. The Shadow Stranger knew she would knew be able to pry the door open with her physical strength, so she focused on her on the shadows and used those to pry the door open. Struggling to step onto the higher platform, she resorted to leaning on her sore upper body to inch the rest of her upward. No matter how she wiggled and squirmed, her shoulder would provide a shooting pain, her stomach left a trail of red blood underneath, and her knee felt as though it was going to pop off.

"C'mon," she breathed to herself, "Dammit, use your survival skills. Don't rely on your powers," she reminded herself of the consequences of overuse of her abilities; she would lose control. Edging her legs onto the platform, she eased the shadows away from the doors, to quietly close them. Paranoia in sewed her mind once again; assuming to find a waiting squad of SHIELD agents, she glanced around to see a simple, short hallway. At the end was a circular hole with vertical bars covering the majority of the entrance. A door was cut out in the middle, allowing people to pass through. "No where else to go," she concluded.

Pushing her sore body to use the wall for support, she carefully looked through the bars, checking the room thoroughly because she had learned her lesson last time. It was empty with a computer hooked into the far wall and a slightly raised deck next to it. A large cylinder with a window was wired with thick coils that lead from the walls. On the opposite, a strange device that had a bench for someone to lay on was placed. It looked like a medieval torture machine, only with electricity. Counters with drawers lined the edge, and a small operating table was adjacent to the terrifying machine. There wasn't a SHIELD agent in the room.

"Finally alone," she exhaled loudly. The Shadow Stranger dragged her feet as she entered the room and forced herself to walk freely in order to completely avoid the torturous looking device.

The first drawer she opened was a pile of mouth guards. She shuddered at the idea of using one. Shutting it and moving onto the next one, keeping her right hand firmly on her left shoulder, providing an unsteady cast for it. Horribly sharp looking instruments were in the second one. The next one held a variety of strange tools; none of which looked like she could use to stitch up her shoulder and stomach.

"Dammit, there has to be gauze, or super glue here," she bit her lip again, slowly getting dizzy from the constant barrage of pain. In the fourth drawer were notebooks and writing utensils. "Stick glue would suffice."

An unknown forced caused her to look at the cylinder up the platform; just barely through the window, which was lined with ice, she saw a man. The Shadow Stranger thought her mind was playing tricks on her; so, on pure curiosity, she waddled her way to the cylinder. With foggy eyes and a hazy brain, she just barely made out a man's face. He looked so peaceful, sleeping in there. She wondered why he was in there, but she felt that he could help her.

Under the glass, there was an automatic lock; she followed the wire around the cylinder to the computer on the desk. "No time," she whispered. Bringing her stable hand away from her aching shoulder, she placed it directly above the lock. Shutting her green eyes and focusing the surrounding shadows to bend inside the mechanism, she applied the rest of her will to unlocking the man. Her tiny bones in her hands slightly popped out as she bend the shadows in the complicated lock. With the last of her will power, the device entrapping the man loudly unlocked. The Shadow Stranger gasped as the man was released; she collapsed to the hard ground. Staggered breaths escaped her lips, causing her body to shake from poor circulation. Her hand twitched violently, her vision became dark and blurry, and her painful wounds all over her body stung twice as bad. All she wanted to do was move, to simply go home and keep her head down for the rest of her life. Avoiding SHIELD would have become her life mission. Now, she might not ever get that chance. Her body was shutting down from shock as she felt her mind ease further into unconsciousness.

Just as she lost all hope, a chillingly ice cold hand was placed on her throbbing shoulder. She couldn't see who had touched her, but she guessed that it was the man from the cylinder. Although The Shadow Stranger couldn't clearly see, she opened her eyes as wide as she could to plead upward to him. The last words she was able to communicate clearly was, "Please, help me."


	2. Chapter 2

As her body slept in a pain-induced mini coma, the man from the cylinder had did as she requested. He was careful to pop her shoulder back into place, resulting in The Shadow Stranger to moan sorely. She had muttered while he operated on her; a few sentences of an unknown town of Mountain Pass, something about a book, and the constant apologizing. He quickly stitched up her stomach, as it was the easiest to get to. The girl's shoulder blade was tender and bruised, discolored from the dislocation. Every time he would touch the delicate skin, the girl would wince and twitch a little, other than that, she didn't move. Her blood was slowing as her heart would relax, making it easier to clean. Without remorse, he pinched the sore skin together to use a needle to pierce the bloody pieces closer. The girl underhand moaned again and uttered, "I deserve this."

Disregarding her statement, he finished her second bullet scrapping. As he finished her torso, he bent her right knee to a 90 degree angle. Cutting her wore jeans above the impaled knife and resorted to use his belt to slow the blood flow to her lower leg, he wiggled the dagger, to determine if the blade had reached her bone or any ligaments. Without batting an eye, the man adjusted his grip on it, and yanked it out. She tensed up again, grinding her teeth and digging her nails into her palms. Throwing the knife to the side, he hastily patched it up; cleaning it, sewing it shut, and wrapping gauze tightly around her knee, to hinder her movement and accidentally ripping it open. Once he stopped all of the obvious wounds, he silently wondered why she had passed out; the injuries couldn't have caused that.

Her bleeding had completely stopped, and her breathing was slowing to a normal pace. As gently as he could, attempting to avoid providing her more discomfort, he picked her up and carried her to the device opposite side of the room. Kicking the seat from an upright position to a more horizontal one, he laid her down. Unsure of his next order, he pulled the chair from the desk and computer. Glancing up at the monitor, he noticed that it was reading as the cryo stasis chamber was still locked. Raising an eyebrow, he knew better than to question a commanding officer. Rather than to continue to investigate, he brought the chair over to the unconscious girl, and patiently waited for her to wake up.

An unknown amount of time had elapsed while The Shadow Stranger had fallen into her current state. The first thing had began her short path to the waking life was the odor of cleaning alcohol; it was strong and coating her nostrils with the recognizable scent. Wrinkling her nose, her mind had started to reboot. What came next was her pain receptors, her knee was constricted and she could barely move it. As if a ton of bricks had hit her left shoulder, her entire arm pulsated and any type of muscle contraction ended in misery. She could vaguely feel the stitches in her stomach, but the majority of her attention was focused on her throbbing shoulder and aching knee. After a few short moments of bombarding torment, her large, green eyes started to flutter. A ceiling light was shining directly into her emerald orbs, leaving her vision to be spinning and foggy. Through unfocused eyes, The Shadow Stranger used her uninjured arm to shield her dilated pupils from the bright bulbs. Groaning under distress, from the unsuspected light and agony in her shoulder and knee, she ungraciously leaned forward. Her head was swimming and her body ached; the last thing she could clearly remember was plummeting down the elevator shaft. That wasn't a pleasant memory.

"Holy crap," she slid her legs to the floor, hoping to find some way to stabilize her spinning head by planting her feet firmly on solid ground. Holding her head as securely as she could with one functioning hand, she took deep breaths in hopes to cease the room from dancing in her eyes.

When the room remained still, she looked to the walls in order to find something that would jog her memory. She quickly found the circular entrance with the vertical bars. Creeping her head across the narrow horizon, she found the cylinder in the corner; her mind instantly remembered that a man was trapped inside. However, the chamber was open. From the corner of her eye, she realized that someone was intently watching her.

Snapping her head to her observer, The Shadow Stranger finally saw the man in the chamber face to face. With a stern face, strong jaw and fierce eyes, the man remained silent as he studied the girl. The absolute dead serious eyes locked on her made her immediately uncomfortable; although, he wasn't doing anything, just simply scrutinizing her actions. His brown hair was parted down the middle and his cloths were thickly made and formed to his impressive muscles. She barely had time to adequately marvel at his physique before discovering his left arm; it was completely robotic. Metal was coiled and shaped to mimic natural human biceps, triceps, and forearm. He seemed already at peace with his extended arm, but The Shadow Stranger couldn't pry her eyes away from it. A large red star was imprinted on the shoulder, while the rest of the mechanically arm was glistening miraculously.

"Woah," she gasped in awe, "Is that a robot arm?"

The man didn't answer her, just continued to stare at her.

The Shadow Stranger readjusted herself to sit incorrectly on her bench to face the man, wincing in discomfort when she moved her shoulder or knee. "That's impressive," she referred to his left arm, "Did you make it?"

Still, no answer.

"Can you feel when someone touches it?"

Silence was his native tongue.

Aching from the variety of pain, The Shadow Stranger was grumpy and wanted to better understand this man and her situation; obviously, he was in the chamber for a reason, something caused him to replace his arm, and she deeply wondered if she was still under Director Fury's jurisdiction or not. Was she even in SHIELD Headquarters anymore? The technology around the room suggested that she wasn't, but she could recall jumping straight through her portal and falling in the shaft. Who was this man?

"Can you talk?" she inquired, a bit more harsh than she wanted.

He cocked his head slightly, "Yes."

"Okay, good," she nodded at him, trying her best to not sound sour. She attempted to roll her left shoulder, but that only resulted in a stinging reminder of her plunge. "Please, feel free to answer me."

He didn't say anything, so The Shadow Stranger was left to hope that he would respond to her future questions.

Pushing wavy locks of hair behind her ear, she inhaled and exhaled deeply, trying her best to cope with such constant pain. "Alright, where am I?"

A small hesitation before answering, but he did explain, "My cryostasis control room."

"And you are?"

"The Winter Soldier."

"Okay," she could vaguely remember reading an online article about a conspiracy with those words, but it was years ago and she could barely relive what had brought her to this room. "Are you with SHIELD?"

"HYDRA," he corrected.

The Shadow Stranger had never heard of them. She wasn't too concerned about an organization that she's never heard of as she was thrilled about successfully evading SHIELD.

Exhaling sharply, as if a heavy weight has been lifted off her chest, The Shadow Stranger relaxed her tense muscles and lowered her guard.

"Fantastic," she muttered under her breath. "Honestly, that's probably the best news I've had in a while. So, what's your name?"

He hesitated again, this time, she was able to detect a slight emotional ping in his eye. "I'm The Winter Soldier."

"You've said that," she averted her gaze from the man to the gauze wrapped around her knee, carefully tapping to pinpoint the wound, "That's a title, codename, euphemism," she clarified. When he didn't reply, she tried to explain in a different matter, "I have one like that; The Shadow Stranger. But, I still have a name. Erin Memmott," she brought her eyes back to him. Rather than his demanding glare to be hounding on her, she saw him looking away a little, as if being entranced by a deep thought. "What's your's?"

"I don't know," he muttered.

Erin bit her lip as she realized that he was being genuine. She must have hit a nerve. Although he had such an intimidating demeanor, there was something hidden inside.

"Uh," she cleared her throat to regain his attention, "Don't worry about it, I can just call you The Winter Soldier, no problem." Erin gave a weak smile while his facial features resulted back to default; strong, coerce, and still. In a desperate attempt to move forward from the previous topic, she lifted her ragged shirt to fully examine her stomach. "Great patch work on my injuries. Very clean and tight; military precision?" The Winter Soldier didn't answer, so she continued, "I've seen this technique before; my grandfather was in World War II as a medic. He tried to teach this to me, but I usually got too queasy at pinching the skin together before I could ever get the needle through." From the memory of her grandfather, she recalled the harsh way as how he died; so she changed the subject again. She looked back to The Winter Soldier and realized that he never informed her about his arm. "May I see your arm?"

Without speaking, he pushed his chair closer to her and held his left arm to her. She used her left hand to steady his wrist and allowed her more capable arm to run her fingers up and down the metal. Small grooves lay in between each coil of metal, perfectly sculpted muscle forms acted and reacted normally, contracting and relaxing when he adjusted his arm. Slightly twisting his wrist, he followed her lead and allowed her to see the other side. Utilizing just the tips of her fingers, she gently caress his robot arm. "Can you feel that?"

Instead of speaking, he used his free hand to grab her's, effectively stopping her from tracing along his arm. He silently told her that he could.

"Fascinating," she muttered. Erin released his wrist and he let her hand go. "Where are my manners? Here I've been asking you all these questions, and you probably have some for me."

The Winter Soldier didn't answer her.

"Really? You're not curious at all?"

No reply.

She sighed a little, getting the impression that she had already overstayed her welcome. "Okay, no biggie," Erin used her right arm and left leg to push herself to stand up, "It was a pleasure meeting you," she offered her hand to him. He stood up and gave her extended arm a quizzical look. Eventually, he used his human hand to grab her's; she smiled and lightly shook. "I greatly appreciate your help. If you ever need anything, just ask." When he remained quiet, Erin concluded the handshake and allowed her hand to drop freely. "So, I'll be seeing you?"

The Shadow Stranger stepped away from The Winter Soldier and rested a palm on the wall. She felt his gaze on her as she focused her manipulation to create a long distant portal; it was a bit trickier to make than simply walking through a wall. Erin concentrated on one of her safe houses scattered across the country. The one in Boston was compromised, that's where SHIELD had located her. Dallas was the most metropolitan area, hopefully she could disappear there for a while. The shadows in the nearby area were dragged to under her palm, whirling together and stretching large enough for a portal to be made. Normally, the portals were simply black when she wanted to step through a wall; but, travelling across the nation seemed to open a window from where she was to where she wanted to go. Her apartment within the busy city was revealed to her and The Winter Soldier. Once the connection was made, she glanced over her shoulder back to her savior.

Pressing her index finger to her thin lips, she made a shushing sound and winked at him. Again, he didn't say anything. Ignoring his silence, Erin Memmott easily stepped through her portal and immediately into her lightly furnished apartment. Once her body was completely through, the portal faded behind her, closing her connection from Dallas to The Winter Soldier's cryostasis control room. That was the last she ever expected to see him.

* * *

Four and a half weeks passed and Erin was determine to lose SHIELD from tailing her. She had immediately chopped off her long hair and styled it wild. Easily obtaining a resident ID and driver license, Erin was hiding under the name of Riley Combs. She knew that using her abilities to break into bank vaults was one way SHIELD could narrow down her location, so that was out of the question. Acquiring a steady job was a foreign concept to her; even when she was a teenager she never had a job. The closest thing was doing chores around the house for a few dollars. Nine to five workforce wasn't her style.

Erin also suspected that Director Fury and Agent Romanoff described in detail about her shadow talents; using that in public would also help them track her down. Up until her arrest, she had relied on the shadows for quite a lot, sneaking into banks, quick escapes, even unlocking her front doors. It was painfully difficult, but she forced herself to stop using her powers altogether. The only time she felt truly safe to practice was in her apartment; she would perform regular sweeps and checks to ensure it wasn't bugged, then she would sit alone in the dark to subcome to the shadows around her.

Restarting a secret life with the injuries she sustained from the SHIELD agents took a while to get used to. She walked with a limp and avoided putting any type of pressure on her shoulder. The stitches were removed two weeks after, just as the scabs were beginning to form on the tiny holes. While biting her bottom lip, and with a stiff drink within reach, she would yank the stitches out as fast as she could. As her lip became tender and sore, tiny trails of blood dotted her shirt. Another swig of Jack for the second bullet grazing.

Acquiring a decent means of income quickly became a burden. Her reserve money was running low and she's been neglecting to eat. Erin was paranoid of how much access SHIELD had and was willing to do to find her; who knows, they could have a squad of agents monitoring every city. Getting a job was too risky because online applications and employee records left tabs on her, and simply walking into a bank vault was how they found her in the first place. An idea finally came to her when she was skimming through the channels; cyber hacking. She was always quick on the pickup of new things, and if she kept the money she would forward into her account very modest, perhaps SHIELD wouldn't notice. They were concerned with her physical appearance; hopefully she could figure out how to hack into others' bank accounts and send money her way without red flagging anything. She would wander the various aisles of her food market, electronic shops, and retail outlets, profiling people who could easily look over a missing hundred dollars. The largest amount she ever took was six hundred and that was because she needed to restock her food supply. It was a confusing journey at first, then Erin became a computer whizz and was able to simply scan the internet for modest paychecks. She kept track of everyone who had ever graciously loaned her money; when SHIELD was off her back, she would return the money. Despite what they had assumed of her, Erin wasn't a bad guy, she always repaid her debts.

Once she had a nice cushion of money, she radically altered her wardrobe. SHIELD was searching for a woman with long, wavy black hair and green eyes; now she had wild hair with reading glasses. No longer wearing men clothing, she dressed in form fitting jeans and tanktops with a hat or headband; she prayed that was her appearance would keep them away. However, no matter what, she would have to infiltrate their HQ; she had to get her book. It wasn't safe in anyone's possession other than her own; this was told to her. Even though she was the only one who could read it, other's would come for it. SHIELD couldn't protect it. She knew she would have to plan retrieving the tome back precisely, but she couldn't do that before her wounds had fully healed.

In case she would need alibas for something, Erin planned to volunteer at a homeless shelter every Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday. It was a Wednesday night when she was walking back to her apartment. It was unseasonably cold outside, so she kept her hands buried in her thin jacket pockets. Along with forty other people, they entered the same train on 5th street and rode north. Erin was lucky enough to snake a seat from an elder man once he got off the transit. While she watched the riders walk off and get on, she noticed a man looking at her. He wore a jacket and kept his baseball cap leaned forward, to conceal his face. She observed his upright posture and statue-like form. Her heart dropped, immediately realizing that SHIELD had found her.

Instead of getting off at the correct stop, Erin squeezed herself out of the train. While pretending to adjust her hair, she saw the man walk off too. _Well damn, _she thought_, They found me._ Rolling her eyes and acting as calm as she could, The Shadow Stranger braced herself and began to walk down the most confusing path as possible. Taking sharp turns and essentially going in a giant circle, she planned to hide down an alley corner and get the jump on him. It was odd that Director Fury had sent only one agent, maybe it was Tony Stark in disguise? Would he really resort to sending one of The Avengers after her? She wasn't a cold blooded criminal.

Erin rolled into a dark alley in between two tall buildings and compressed herself as small as she could behind a parked car. She kept her shadow hidden as the man turned down the same alley. _Got ya now._ He stepped just beyond the tail end of the car and she jumped at him. Faster than she could realize, he twisted around, low swept her footing, and pinned her to the wall. She wasn't prepared for such swift reflections. With a thick arm pressed against her throat she held up her hands in surrender; hoping to convince the agent that he was tailing an innocent girl.

"Oh God, please don't hurt me!" she begged. "I didn't do anything!"

"Quiet!" he hissed at her.

Through facade green eyes, Erin silently plead to him, still hoping to resolve this conflict without her shadows.

"Stop that," he muttered, tilting his head away.

The light from the side door of the restaurant shone onto his cheek, she could see some stumble. He wasn't with SHIELD, their agents had to be clean shaven everyday; unless he was undercover.

"Erin, stop," he said again.

Her pleading eyes immediately snapped to one of pure horror, "How the hell did you know-"

"You told me," he picked up his head and revealed his face; under the stumble and extra shadow cast from the cap, she realized it was The Winter Soldier.

"Son of a bitch," she uttered under her breath. "How did you find me?! Does anyone else know?"

"It's what I do, and no. Just me."

"That's reassuring; oh, and I read up on your HYDRA. I want nothing to do with them."

"Now you know how I feel."

He pulled his arm away from her throat and took a step back. Erin dusted her jacket, keeping her hands close to the wall, in case she needed to get away fast.

"What do you mean?"

The Winter Soldier glanced up and down the alley way while placing his hands back in his pockets. "It isn't safe out here, let's head to your place." He turned from her and began to lead the way to her apartment. She hesitated before chasing after him.


	3. Chapter 3

The pair of rogue criminals remained mute while they made their way to Erin's apartment building. He kept his hands in his pockets so his robot hand wouldn't show as they journeyed down the lanes. She hid her palms under her armpits to warm up her fingers and for better access in case she needed to jump through a portal. Filled with mixed emotions, Erin wondered why he tracked her down; she had hurt enough people in her life already, hopefully he didn't need her assistance in stealthily murdering someone. Although, she had picked up an air of desperation from him. It was unsettling that he found her so quickly; she had just molded herself back into a semi-normal life style. Difficult as it was to make genuine friends with a fake name, she had a routine and a certain demeanor to uphold. However, he helped her from bleeding out and inadvertently provided her a place to escape from SHIELD; she owed him. Maybe it would be different if he wasn't known for his remarkable mortal combat abilities and marksman talents. There was no way she could defend herself against him; what could she do? Jump through walls and hold him back? She always saw herself as a lover, not a fighter. Regardless if he needed legitimate aid, she was obliged to help.

Continuing the theme of silence discussion the entire way to her floor in her community building, Erin used her home keys to unlock the front door, entertaining a short thought of her running away. Similar to when she had Fury and Romanoff pinned to the wall, she quickly tossed the idea out of her mind. Revenge wasn't her anymore; and getting accustomed to running was no way to live. Besides, she couldn't let The Winter Soldier down; he found her once, what's stopping him from doing it again? She would just have to cut down some walls and barriers first, get passed the obvious soldier aspect and learn more about the man underneath.

"We'll be safe here," she assured him while stepping over the threshold.

He didn't answer, only followed her inside. Flipping on the kitchen light, Erin quickly shut the door and locked it; routine for her every time she got home. The Winter Soldier was standing tall and completely out of place. It was obvious that he didn't belong in such a homely environment. According to the articles she read online, he was born in battle and used only as a weapon. A part of her pitied him; no one deserved to be treated in such a way. He glossed over the small couch, her coffee table, and the few generic picture frames hanging on her wall. Erin allowed him to soak up all the little details of her flat; he might not get another chance to just look at a normal living room.

"No cameras, bugs, or wires here," she attempted to break the ice again, "I would know." She slipped her thin coat off and draped it over a chair, still cautiously watching him. He would step towards some object, like a vase full of fake flowers or her computer, and act as though he had a question about it; he never asked. Erin gave a soft sigh and decided to sit on her couch. "You don't have to stand the entire time."

Finally, he looked back to her. He saw her sitting and sat next to her, hunched forward and still hiding his face. She saw him remove his hands and cupped them together.

"What brings you to Dallas?" she inquired.

He fidgeted with his hands, physically displaying his nerves and hesitation. "A mission."

"Is it me?" Erin couldn't help but blurt out her fear.

"You would already be dead," he failed to appease her worries.

"That's comforting," she muttered more to herself than to him.

Without picking up his head he acknowledged her response, "I'm not going to hurt you."

The Shadow Stranger wanted to scoff at him, but she didn't dare offend him. He was clearly conflicted, pissing him off would only end badly for her. So, she bit her bottom lip and lingered in silence.

When she didn't answer, The Winter Soldier glanced up at her, still twiddling with his fingers, "I won't." His tone was sincere and honest; she found a trace of a promise in those words.

Erin lightly cleared her throat and relaxed a little, easing her back against the cushions. "Okay, so, why find me?"

"Do you remember when you asked if I had any questions for you?" He watched the wild haired woman sternly nod, "I do."

"These must be pretty important since you tracked me half way across the country," Erin tried to add a humorous tone to their conversation, it didn't work.

"Incredibly," his face grew grim. He lifted the hat off his head and tossed it to the coffee table, so he could rack his hair back in frustration.

"Well, you've got me," she said behind a weak smile, clinging onto the fantasy of some lighthearted discussion.

"How do I know you'll answer truthfully?"

"Uh, well," she wasn't sure how to respond to him, so she went with the authentic version, "You can't. But, I remember what you did for me a month ago. I want to repay you to the best of my abilities."

He nodded and sighed; Erin didn't know what to expect from him. It was difficult enough to pinpoint how old he was, or even his name. What kind of questions would he need answers to? "Alright," he muttered under his breath, "Are you with HYDRA?"

"Hell no; I don't even know what they stand for," she answered, with a more genuine smile. It was meant as a comforting gesture to him; The Winter Soldier simply watched her facial features carefully.

"How did you get me out of the cryo stasis chamber?"

Erin swallowed all of her courage, and whatever was left of her hopes for a pleasant conversation, "I'm not entirely sure. I was blacking out, desperate for anyone to help me. Saw the lock and used my shadows to open it. I can't actually remember how I deciphered it, but I'm thankful that I did."

"Where did you get those shadows? How can you bend them to your will?"

She guessed that he didn't know about her book. For as long as she could, she wanted to maneuver away from that subject. The less people who know about it the better. "I learned."

"From whom?"

"It wasn't a person, a book," Erin expect his next question, so she took the liberty of elaborating, "I found it years ago and I'm self-taught. No, I don't have the book, and no I can't teach you."

"HYDRA didn't inject you with a serum that allows you to move the shadows?"

"What? God no," Erin shook her head, "Absolutely not. I didn't even know they existed until I stumbled upon you." The Winter Soldier exhaled loudly and allowed his board shoulders to drop. A heavy weight was off of his back. Erin slightly narrowed her eyes at him, slowly putting the pieces of his questions together. She even followed the trail back to their first encounter. "Oh," she voiced her realization, "You thought I was an officer, didn't you?" He glanced at her in mild surprise, "Oh my God," she continued, "That's why you patched me up; you thought I was a test. No wonder you didn't say anything; you've been trained to not ask questions."

"A perfect soldier," he bitterly uttered.

"But, you do have questions for me," Erin made a full circle in their conversation. "I understand now. What do you need?" The Shadow Stranger asked sincerely.

"You." The Winter Soldier glimpsed at her with begging eyes; Erin shifted uneasily to his definite answer. "Since we met, I've been thinking. To Mr. Pierce, he says that's dangerous. I know that I don't want to be HYDRA's pawn anymore. I want out."

She took a moment to absorb what he was implying. "You want me to get you out?"

Behind his dark eyes, he nodded to confirm Erin's suspicions.

"I-I," she stuttered. Dumbstruck would have been an understatement to describe how she felt. "I think you have the wrong person. I mean, I would if I could. But, I'm just a girl from Wyoming; a mountain town with no remarkable achievements."

"Mountain Pass, Wyoming," he uttered. "Population: seven hundred and eighty six. One hospital, three schools, and a rural culture. Best known for the occasional sighting of the White Chested Blue Jay. Recently burned down from unknown causes-"

"Stop that."

"No bodies were recovered; only piles of ash-"

"Hey!" Erin lost her temper and raised her voice. The Winter Soldier snapped out of a recording-like state and turned to her. She was hot faced and disturbed by his cold facts. "Just, don't talk about it, okay?" Erin twisted her watery eyes away; she often talked about how small and insignificant her hometown was, but it didn't sound right coming from him. He was implying that nothing good came from the black pit that was once the land underneath the streets. She always had a plan to make a positive name for herself and help give Mountain Pass the recognition it deserved. That all was burned away almost nine months ago.

"That's what I was talking about," The Winter Soldier explained, "I can't stop being a soldier. It's all I know how to do."

The Shadow Stranger popped her knuckles out of a nervous habit and interlaced her fingers together, as if she was attending church. She rested her cupped hands on her forehead, deeply thinking. She was listening to the facts in her head, having them ricochet off each other until her blood began to simmer; he was wrong.

"There wasn't," Erin choked up at her elaboration, but she quickly regained her composure, "It wasn't seven hundred and eighty six. No, Mr. and Mrs. Temple gave birth that day. Twins. Seven hundred and eighty eight," she corrected. "They didn't even have a chance."

"What happened there?"

Erin shook her head; she still couldn't openly talk about it. Despite his good intentions, the wild haired woman was not willing to confess her sins just yet. Regret, dread, and terror were plastered on her delicate features. Muscles were tensed, eyes were darting across the room, uneasily adjusting in her seat, and her heart was beating out of her chest. Within her mind, behind her calm disposition, she was reliving the events that occurred that day. January third was a dark day.

"Okay," she inhaled deeply through her nose. "Okay, I'll help you. But there's something I have to get first."

The Winter Soldier had snuck out of her apartment in the middle of the night. Erin wasn't surprised that he left; he had a mission to complete. It took an abundance of persuasion for her to convince him to follow through his objective. He was an important asset to HYDRA, he couldn't just walk away and wash his hands clean from them. No; they had to figure out a way to make it seem as though he was dead. Otherwise, HYDRA would keep looking for him. She was familiar with the constant running and hiding lifestyle. If she could help someone avoid that she would. Their discussion carried for hours, Erin practically talking in circles so Winter could comprehend her way of thinking. For being a super soldier, he was very reluctant to murdering his newest target. She suspected that he expected to be out of HYDRA's reach that evening; she wasn't a miracle worker. It went into an elaborated explanation of why he couldn't simply walk away. If HYDRA knew he was alive, they weren't going to allow him to leave. To them, he was the ultimate weapon. The perfect soldier. Unless he created a convincing death, they wouldn't stop searching for him. It was frustrating for her, constantly repeating herself or changing her diction so he could understand. For over fifty years, he's always followed the same orders; assistante a handful of people, report back, then get cryogenically frozen until they needed him again. The Shadow Stranger had to open his mind to a new way of thinking; then she had to ensure that he wouldn't reveal his thoughts to his superiors. The easiest way she illustrated her plan was that he had to live a double life. The perfect soldier one would continue unhindered, and then he had to find her to further continue their little operation. Needless to say that Winter wasn't thrilled with the vagueness she had provided him. But there wasn't much she could do on such a short notice.

After convincing him to resume his normal habits, Erin gave an ambiguous reason why she needed to retrieve her book. Naturally, like everyone else she had mentioned the book to, he immediately didn't understand the urge for her to recover it. She had learned over the years that to the untrained eye, the book was blank and possessed no material value. Erin was the only person who could read it; which had always made her feel bitterly alone. The Shadow Stranger learned to life with the pending emotion of isolation; primarily ignoring it and trying to not get killed. Winter was spectacle of her "magic book," but she swore that if she had it she could aid him better.

That conversation was short lived as Erin couldn't help herself but yawn occasionally. Before she drifted into a peaceful slumber, she informed Winter that she would find a place in D.C., so the next time he would be utilized, he could find her more easily. Of course, she didn't like the idea of hiding right under SHIELD's nose, but after the things she had done in Mountain Pass, she needed to redeem herself. Helping The Winter Soldier break free from his HYDRA chains was just one small thing she could do to cope with her previous actions.

Around two in the morning, the wild haired girl had finally sub came to the her heavy eyes and exhausted body. With her feet crossed under her body, she eased her head onto the armrest. Before her head hit a stable support, she was out. The coffee table was littered with a rough draft of the available places she could hide in D.C. Large circles were written in red marker to indicate where she would stay. Some apartments complexes, a few under a highway ramp where she could get a shipping crate to be stationed, three were abandoned stores, and two were motels. She was board about the places she could be hiding at in case SHIELD had picked up her trail and chased her from a safe house. While Erin slept soundly on a corner of the couch, The Winter Soldier took a moment to study the locations. His precise eyes gathered cross streets and the surrounding buildings, any landmarks and possible vantage points. He memorized all of the information he needed before placing his cap over his head again.

The Winter Soldier was long gone before The Shadow Stranger regained her conscious. Batting her eyes and stretching her cramped legs outward, she popped her shoulders and rolled her stiff neck. Glancing around, she knew he was fulfilling his mission. The front door was still locked, however the window to the small balcony was left open. "Classy," she muttered.

Erin immediately noticed that something was draped over her; it was his dark colored jacket. Because she was wrapped in a tight ball on the couch, it was able to cover the majority of her. "Wow," she smiled, "I guess chivalry isn't dead, just cryogenically frozen."


	4. Chapter 4

On that Thursday morning, Riley Combs mysteriously vanished. The only thing that she took with her was her laptop. Her neighbors haven't seen her for a week. By the management's authority, the police broke down the front door, only to reveal that she had disappeared. A small stack of money was laying on the kitchen counter with a simple note, "Thanks for the room." The introverted, homeless feeding, cyber hacking Riley Combs had strangely ran away throughout the night, never to be seen again. A missing person's case was shortly opened to locate her; the police had suspected foul play and a kidnapping. However, with Erin's talents to make shadow portals and trained skills to easily disappear, they couldn't find any trail to track her. Riley had vanished off the face of the earth.

Erin didn't waste any time picking a new safe house. She had decided to secure a closed property on the south side of D.C. It used to be a doughnut shop in the back corner of a large shopping center. Because of the surrounding retail and specialty stores, it was hidden in plain sight. The windows were painted black from the inside, heavy locks and chains ensured no intruder an easy entrance. The access to the roof was also on lockdown, padlock on the hatch to use the ladder to descend. A border of the walls lined the roof, giving a ledge and providing a cover to install solar panels. She brainstormed how to better prevent anyone from coming through the obvious ways; she would add a thick level of wood over the windows and roof latch from the inside and three tiers of metal clasps on the front door. More black paint to cover the minor scrapes and holes; so no one who happens to look inside won't get suspicious about the covering wood. That was the easy part. Then she used her shadows to get a better look inside.

Barely any light littered the interior, a white service counter in the shape of an "L" was separating the bakery and the designated eating area, and a few built in tables lined the walls. The tiny kitchen was stricken of all machinery, vents to the roof were shut and padlocked, and the wall-in freezer was empty. Out of the corner of her eye, Erin saw a metal latch in the further angle. Her curiosity got the better of her, so she yanked it upward. It revealed a narrow step ladder going down. "How could I resist?" she asked herself as she eased into the opening.

Dust fell from the support beams as she stepped into the darkness. Keeping a hand on the wall to assume how far she was descending, Erin strained her eyes to examine the secret level. To her surprise, her foot tapped onto the solid ground and it echoed outward. She felt the base and, rather than expecting dirt and gravel under her touch, she found thick concrete. With a raised eyebrow, Erin determined that further exploration of this level would have to wait until she had a flashlight. She reentered the doughnut shop and placed the latch back, careful to blend it with the neighboring grime.

It was a process; she created a new alias of Kiara Burkitt and a corresponding, convincing fake ID. Opened a legitimate bank account and credit card, signed a 3-month lease at an apartment complex across town and a nearby Home Depot, and resumed her cyber hacking income. She was tempted to simply get an actual job for fear of SHIELD using their technology to find her again. Her newest location was incredibly too close for her liking, but Winter needed her by the capital. Essentially being right under SHIELD's nose was risky. She promised to help him, after she got her book back; how was she suppose to break into the most secure building in the world and steal the tome? One problem at a time, and she had to gain a steady source of money before she could even worry about SHIELD.

Days turned into months as she continued to wire money from civilians under a fake deposit ticket to assume the false company she was "employed" at. She had set a various of payments around six hundred and fifty dollars to be automatically deposited every two weeks. She pooled around twenty accounts together for each electronic check, just in case SHIELD noticed her activity, it would be hard to pinpoint her whereabouts. Erin set the automatic pay period for the next seven months, so all she had to do was budget her money out every fortnight and she would be fine.

Her new safe house kept her quite busy. Repainting her large windows with numerous shades of black, buying a surplus of nails and lumber to shave down evenly. More often than not, Erin resorted to her shadow abilities to hold up the wood and hastily using a power drill to tack it against the walls. To avoid suspicion, she left a small portal open from inside the doughnut shop to her temporary apartment in order to use the electricity she was paying for. Using the power tools during the day was too risky; the customers in the retail stores could hear her renovations. She had accustomed a nocturnal habit in order to completely lock down the ground level. Once the windows were painted and boarded, and the front door had tight metal clasps on, Erin returned to the hidden passage to the underground.

With an industrial sized flashlight with fresh batteries, she yanked open the latch and carefully stepped downward. She found the lightswitch, but it didn't help. Erin decided to leave one flashlight by the ladder and take the other with her in order to fully explore this darkened basement. Along the wall, she ran into a handful of hanging portraits of serious men in suits. Desks with rust ridden chairs formed a triangle at the far end of the room. A solid grime level laid on top of the desks. She circled the room, following the wall and maneuvering around the small office area and being led back to the ladder. She passed an old fashion workbench, free weights, and a hanging punching bag. They were all wore and used past their expiration date. Erin returned to the surface level and back to her apartment across town. She researched the doughnut shop and about store basements. After a while of surfing the internet about her safe house, she believed that she found the answer she was looking for. Apparently, in 1966, Vito Genovese, or "Don Vito", mobster, had spent two years in the basement of a local D.C. doughnut shop, interviewing for potential new recruits. He then moved to Springfield and later passed away. It's been a rumor that the police had the basement locked up, for "investigative purposes," however the location of the mob boss' lair was never mentioned, so the public assumed they had never found it. With another glance at the stone-faced portraits on the walls, Erin was convinced that she had found it.

Renovations became harder as she realized that she could funnel solar power into the lights in the underground. A lot more work was to be done. Her plan was to have her actual "house" in the basement, and keep the latch covered with food shelves in the freezer. She fed wires through the walls, from the solar panels to the basement, changed the light bulbs, cleaned the entirety of the basement, and began making it more homely. Of course, she couldn't take down the photo of Don Vito, it was his secret she was keeping after all. She kept the middle desk, for her own personal use, and added a comfy couch, rugs, a bed behind the desk, and a TV. Erin refurbished the dark basement to her own home.

By the time she had finally settled in, seven months had past. She was never good with tools or hands-on work. The outside appearance wasn't altered, the ground level was bare and only hold her food in the freezer. Her basement was just livable; she didn't want to stay in D.C. after she helped Winter break away from HYDRA.

It ended up being an entire year before their paths crossed again. She spent the majority of that time reading novels and gaining as much creative ways to break into government facilities. There's wasn't a "Dummies Way to Break Into SHIELD Headquarters," but she stocked up on criminal novels and made mental notes of the protagonists faults and mistakes. She kept her money flow constant, and allowed her face to pop up on security cameras all over the capital. Her shadow portals were incredibly useful in avoiding detection; however, she still had to get her book back before she could assist The Winter Soldier. From what she could gather from the news and online articles, she had an astonishingly vague understanding of how SHIELD operated. There was no easy way in and no easy way out. This break in would need absolute precision and concentration. She entertained the idea of getting caught again and getting the book out that way, although, if she did break out again, they would increase the precautions around her tome. Erin did not like this challenge.

Upon one of her spontaneous shopping trips, Kiara held her head up high as she walked down the moderately busy street. With short black waves swaying behind her, Kiara took her usual "shortcut" into a narrow street between two tall buildings. She followed the one way street until she turned a corner, where she would open a shadow portal back to her safe house without security cameras witnessing. Before she could lay her delicate hand on the wall, someone snuck up on her and jerked her away. Gasping in surprise was all she had time to do before a strong hand covered her mouth. She struggled for a moment before a muscular leg kept her knees in place, so she couldn't kick her attacker.

"Stop, stop!" he whispered into her ear, "It's me!"

She stopped struggling and darted her eyes in order to see any facial features of her attacker. Rather than him revealing himself, he used his free hand to slid his sleeve up; his left arm was leveled up with metal coils with thin grooves in between. Erin immediately knew who it was. She dropped her shoulders in relaxation; he eased his grip off of her and stepped away.

"I'm going to put a damn bell on you," the black haired girl turned to find Winter and pointed furiously at him. "Nearly gave me a damn heart attack."

"I was trailing you for a while; you didn't see me?"

"See my heaving chest? That's a definite 'no,'" she exhaled sharply and took deep breaths, attempting to calm her racing heart.

"You noticed me last time," he defended.

"Only because you were staring me down on the train," she retorted. "Jesus Christ," she muttered.

"I went to all of the safe houses you mentioned last time, you weren't at any of them," his tone was annoyed, with a hint of hurt, "What the hell is that about?"

"Yes I am," she gathered her dropped bags and glanced back at him, "The abandoned store on Rampart and Concord-"

"Signs of your involvement were present, however you weren't there."

"You didn't break in, did you?" The Winter Soldier raised his eyebrows; giving her a silent confirmation. "You know how long it took to get that place as good as it was?" He tilted his head a little, showing little concern for her hard work on the doughnut shop. "Dammit," Erin sighed and gathered her plastic bags. She turned back to the wall and pressed her hand against it. Manipulating the surrounding shadows, she opened a portal into her basement. "C'mon, you'll be fine," she offered a hand to him. Of course, Winter was hesitant to accept her hand, but he eventually took it. She led him easily through the portal and emerged into the basement under the doughnut shop. A tiny lamp was left on so Erin could walk around without bumping into her furniture. Once Winter was fully through the portal, it closed behind him. Erin released his hand and flipped on the power switch, causing the twisty bulbs to flicker on. "Home sweet home," she kicked her shoes off and tossed her plastic bags on her desk. In the corner of the ceiling, where the latch was in the freezer, Erin saw that it was broken in. She silently pouted at the apparent waste of time and effort to secure her shop.

Winter seemed underwhelmed by the basement. He studied all corners and finally allowed his eyes to rest on Erin. "Did you get the book?"

She signed sharply and shook her head, "I have no idea how to get it," she watched as The Winter Soldier narrowed his eyes in a dark demeanor, "What did you expect? It's in the most secure building in the world; planning such an upscale robbery takes time."

He picked up a paperback novel and held it up to her, "You call _Helter Skelter_ planning a robbery?" To further illustrate his frustration, he slammed the paperback on the concrete.

Erin flinched when it echoed. Biting her lip, and going against her better judgment to remain silent, she replied, "You're right; I should just go in there, guns blazing, and get it back. Killing everyone in my way-"

"I don't understand why you need this damn book!" he snapped.

"There's something in there that can help you!" she shouted back.

"You're suppose to help me!" he stepped to her, threatening.

"I'm trying!" Erin used every fiber in her being to stay calm in front of him; she wasn't going to show how absolutely terrified he made her. They took a moment to breath together, to relax and center themselves. Erin kept her eyes fixed on his, presenting a strong front against him, but preparing for the worse in the back of her head. At that moment, she feared that he would actually hurt her. There was never a definite guarantee that he wouldn't.

He eased a step away from her, keeping his hands down and his face blank. She couldn't read what he was thinking.

"I really am," she continued, weakly, "I've had that book for years, read it front to back. There's a technique mentioned about memories. If I get it back, I can try it on you." Her explanation didn't seem to appease him. "I've been procrastinating; stalling. Neglecting to realize how much I need to get it." Her gaze fell onto the ground, "I'm sorry." The Winter Soldier still didn't answer The Shadow Stranger. He remained motionless as Erin fidgeted for a moment. She collected her nerves and forced herself to look up at him.

"Tomorrow," he finally said.

"What?"

"You'll have your chance to get it tomorrow. Be ready; once I'm done, I'll meet you back here at 4 in the afternoon."

"Wait, I don't understand. What's happening tomorrow?"

"Think of it as a distraction."

Erin searched his statue-like face for any signs or hints as to what he was inferring to. Only his lips moved when he spoke. "What do you plan to do?"

"My mission."

She knew what that meant; he was going to assassinate someone. The unlucky soul had to be someone fairly important, either in SHIELD, or a great asset to them. Hopefully with The Winter Soldier's "distraction," she could retrieve her book. It wasn't sitting well with her; knowing that Winter was going to kill someone. Erin had to get her book back, one way or another. Maybe, this would be the last person who had to die. After she helps Winter to escape HYDRA, she would bring the book back to the previous owner; the burden it causes can rest on his shoulders. Regardless, she had to get it back first.

"How when I know to get it?"

"Sometime in the afternoon."

"Okay then," she muttered to herself. "I'll just improvise getting in and out."

"How can I be sure you'll be back?"

"Well, despite my best attempts to hide, you always seem to find me. So, if I try to run, I'm sure you'll eventually catch up to me." Again, he was clearing not pleased with her honesty. "And, I want to get you away from HYDRA."

"Why do you want to?"

"You know about Mountain Pass; you read about what happened. Seven hundred and eighty eight people were brutally murdered. If I can save just one person, it'll be someone who really needs it."


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry for the delay. Been busying with life for a bit, but now I found some time to add in the next installment. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"Okay, okay, okay," Erin quietly whispered to herself, "Don't look suspicious, no fidgets, leveled heartbeat," she continued her pep talk. Her delicate palms were sweaty, her heart was beating in her stomach, and her eyes clouded with agitation. On both sides of her head, The Shadow Stranger's ears flustered into a scarlet hue. While she stepped off of the public bus, near the capitol of the country, Erin quickly draped her black hair over as much of her ears as possible. WIth a tremendously deep intake of air, she wiped her damp palms on her tan jeans and began her walk to SHIELD Headquarters. "This is absolutely ridiculous. Definitely insane. Never going to work," her sensible side was speaking up now. "There is no way you're walking out of that building."

Despite her valid points, Erin's legs endured the journey to the front gate of the massive building. From multiple websites, she had learned that SHIELD had at least forty floors; and that was just the above ground. She knew there were a handful underneath the surface, however pinpointing where they would keep her book was another story completely. Thanks to her book, she could essentially walk through walls, but it took a lot out of her. Erin had given her word to Winter so she was determined to help him, even if it meant getting arrested, again. She had to redeem herself somehow.

Once the reinforced security gate was within her sight, Erin cracked her knuckles and popped her neck. It was now or never. "So glad your distraction worked," she rolled her eyes as she approached the edge of the facility. Two, well-armed and muscular guards were posted; one standing at the gate, and the other sitting inside the little box at the corner. "How am I supposed to do this?"

Her confidence seemed to drain from her as she stepped in front of the two men. The one standing shifted his weight and quickly scanned the woman nearing them. Erin politely smiled and nodded at him.

"Good afternoon," she gave the most genuine expression she could conjure.

"Afternoon," his gruff voice said, while he still looked her up and down.

"Uh, this is a bit embarrassing," she began, "But I've got an interview inside."

"Oh yeah? What identification number?" he asked, clearly lightening his tone.

_Well shit,_ she muttered in her mind. "92 Foxtrot," she said the first number that popped into her head and one of the phonetic alphabet.

She could see in his dark eyes that he was suspicious of her, however he kept his chin up and a constant grin. _A rouse,_ she determined quickly.

"Oh, Foxtrot, eh? Hey, Dunn, mind calling for the exetrimantor?" he glanced over his shoulder to the silent man in the box. "I've seen a few too many bugs up here." He turned back to Erin, "What is that, computer work?"

"Adminastration," she pretended to correct him, "Well, there's computer work involved." Continuing her calm demeanor, she lightly shrugged her shoulders. From the corner of her eye, she watched the second guard pick up a phone and quietly talk into it. The way he was slightly hunched over to better conceal his mouth worried Erin.

"Really? You get a nice office with an window too?"

_You're stalling._ "That's my long term goal, but I doubt I'll have my own office. Still have to get through the interview," she nodded to the gate behind him, "I wasn't issued a badge. The receptionist told me to talk to whomever was on post outside." The security camera on each corners of the gate adjusted themselves towards Erin. With keen eyes, she looked directly into both; someone else was watching.

"Did she? Which receptionist, was her name Romanoff?" he dropped Black Widow's name to see how she would react.

Rather than her caving and giving herself up, Erin continued his game, "Yes, actually. The one with the red hair?"

"Yep, that's her alright," the guard stepped into the little security box and made it look like he was pressing buttons. "No big deal, let me just call up someone to ring you in."

"I couldn't help but overhear that you said something about bugs; there aren't any spiders around, are there?" she kept her face was painted and as fake as she make herself out.

"Arachnophobia?" the guard, as nicely as he could, asked.

"Not so much, I just find all insects rather annoying," she had raised her voice to insure that whomever was watching through the cameras could hear; she hoped Agent Romanoff was listening. _They know I don't belong here. Are they using that Insight crap to identify me again? They know. Well, I couldn't expect my improv skills to be good enough to sneak me into SHIELD HeadQuarters. Damn, I was hoping to get a bit further than the front gate before causing a scene. _"What about you, are you afraid of anything?"

"No ma'am," he said proudly.

Inhaling sharply, and moving closer to the gate, she gently placed a hand on the bars that connected to the wall and security box, "Not even the dark?" Before the guards could upholster their guns, or even realize what she was referring to, Erin forced the shadows inside the security box to seize the door shut. Loud bangs were heard from the inside. She wasted no time wrapping the interior of the post in darkness. The window blacked out, the door was almost welded closed, and the air vents were draped in her shadows. Gunshots were ringing from the guards, but The Shadow Stranger simply contracted her hand on the wall to enclose the men in a smaller circle. It shrank to almost bone crushing size, however she didn't want to kill anyone. Breaking the contact to her shadows, Erin pulled her palm away from the wall. The men inside the post gasped as the darkness released them. _I'm not a murderer._

With a quick glare at the cameras that were studying her every move, Erin pressed her fingers to the bars and created a portal to walk through it. Once inside the perimeter, a long stretch of concrete lead to the skyscraper. Behind the gate, she heard the two guards shout to each other or into some communication device. _They're bringing friends,_ Erin still hung onto the hope to avoid any more conflict.

Immediately kicking off her heels for her fake interview, Erin ran as fast as she could. Taking long strides and controlling as much as her breathing she could, the gate behind her began to open. The men shouted commands at her, warning they would shoot her. Ignoring the guards, her legs continued towards the tall building. Anticipating when the guards planned to open fire, Erin dove forward to the ground. The guards started to unload their clips close to her. Erin curled into a ball and attempted to count the bullets that were noisily chipping the concrete around her. She rolled to dodge the multiple shots take at her. One of the guards had reached to 17 shots and had to reload; or rather, that was what Erin was guessing. She dared to look back to see if either were switching magazines. Instead, they were running to her. _Damnit. _

Slamming her hand onto the ground, she resorted to the assist of her shadows once more. As the guards had stepped down, the shadows wrapped around their thick boots and held them down. Their bodies weren't prepared for the sudden stop, so they leaned forward and dropped their weapons. Another squeeze of her hand allowed the shadows around the boots to bring the guards downward. They tried to untie the sinking footwear, but Erin had the shadows move faster into the concrete. Once the guards' ankles, and the top of their issued boots were in the ground, she peeled her hand free. The shadows disappeared and the men remained in the road. She winced as their feet and ankles crushed by the surrounding pressure. Watching the men squirm was unpleasant and caused Erin to contract her own feet to their pain. "Jesus," she said, incredibly sympathetic of their pain. "I didn't want to hurt you," she whispered.

Jumping up from the road, The Shadow Stranger strained herself to turn away and resume her own mission. _Please Winter, get that distraction started._ Her short curls bounced as she increased the gap between her and the screaming men. Their cries of anguish echoed in her ears and eventually brought her to stop. She bit her bottom lip to hold back her own tears. _You're not a monster. You don't torture people. Is this what you learned from Qlifhat?_ Erin's heart grew heavy as she came to the realization that SHIELD had already titled her a monster; she decided to not give them any inclination to further that label. Quickly whipping a small tear away, Erin ran back to the grounded soldiers.

As soon as she was close enough, Erin knelt down and used the shadows to lift the men from the concrete. They doubled-over in pain as their feet were brought back to the surface. Dunn gripped his shins and rocked back and forth in torment. His partner gave Erin such a dirty look while talking into a walkie clipped on his chest. The guard's expression was sour, harsh and absolutely dreadful. Erin knew that if looks could kill she would be dead before her lifeless body hit the floor.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, though she knew that she would never receive their forgiveness.

Erin spun on her bare feet and stood to run back to SHIELD; however, Agent Romanoff had other plans. The red haired woman appeared out of no where and threw a small device at Erin. The Shadow Stranger didn't have time to react as the silver device stuck to her stomach and immediately sent waves of strong electrical currents through her body. She felt her heart race to keep up with the new electricity, her muscles tense up entirely, and her knees give out. It felt as though someone had poured hot grease onto her head as her brain struggled to register what was happening around her. The impulses stopped just as Erin's body dropped to the cold concrete.

Over an hour later was when her body began to twitch and wiggle awake. Rather than the bright sun filtering her vision, a shallow light lingered over her eyes. Her pupils started to dilate, her head swam in dizziness, and her stomach stung with an idle burning sensation. Erin tried to move her hand to her belly, to cradle the painful area; only, her arm wouldn't budge. Her elbow was free, but something was holding her wrist. Gazing over to her side with foggy eyes, Erin was able to make out thick clasps. Looking to the other side, she found another one. Fidgeting her legs proved to be fruitless as more restraints held her ankles. _Fantastic, I've been arrested, again. _

The Shadow Stranger began to twist and jerk her hands in order to bend her palms to the clasps. If she touch them, she could free herself.

"It's pointless to try," a leveled female voice said.

Erin squinted her eyes to better focus the source; not much was revealed, but she did see red hair.

"Escape; it is what you're trying to do, right?" she continued to interrogate her.

The black haired prisoner held her tongue.

"Yeah, you shouldn't strain yourself trying to get out."

She blinked a few times to clear up the remaining haze over her vision but still did not answer.

"Honestly, I'm surprised," Agent Romanoff crossed her arms, "I mean, I didn't take you for an idiot. Attempting to break into SHIELD is the most ridiculous thing ever. Yet, you walked right to the front gates." She took a few steps closer to Erin.

"Well, I was hoping for some insightful reading," The Shadow Stranger vaguely mentioned her tome.

"That's obvious," the roll of her eyes was evident in her tone, "It's been over a year, why now?"

"Since you stole it from me?" Erin's brain was restarting and giving her confidence again, "Yes, it's been quite a long while. Figured I should get steal it back."

"You need it for something," she concluded. Erin turned her head to Agent Romanoff; apparently she was reading all of her subtle facial changes. _Won't be able to lie to her._

"That's obvious," Erin mocked.

"Why do you need a wordless book?"

She couldn't help but scoff at her, "Maybe for you. Honestly, I'm surprised, I mean, I didn't take you for an idiot." The Shadow Stranger found it easy to enrage Agent Romanoff by copying her words. The red haired agent grew angry enough to strike her. A powerful fist collided against her cheek. Wringing her head back to face Romanoff, Erin adjusted her jaw to ensure she didn't dislocate it. "No need to get violent."

"Be thankful I don't stab you again," she warned.

"Look, I just want what is mine," technically, the book was never her's to begin with, but she needed it to help Winter.

"So you can burn down another town?" Those words went straight for her heart. Agent Romanoff noticed Erin's eyes narrow and nostrils flare in anger. "What city did you have in mind? Maimi? Phoenix? San Francisco?"

"I didn't do that," was all Erin could mutter in defense.

"Oh yeah? Is that why we found you in the center of Mountain Pass, completely untouched by your black fire?"

"Fuck off," Erin didn't want to be reminded of that day. As Romanoff continued to accuse her, The Shadow Stranger was forced to relive the events of January third.

"Yeah, I don't like terrorists. So, I'll just leave you here to rot, okay?" the final word was full of fake cheer. Agent Romanoff gave an obvious false smile before turning and walking away. "When you're ready to tell us how that book works, just let us know." The curvy woman with sweeping red hair said while closing the door behind her. Powerful locks clicked as the door slide to shut her inside a cell.

"Go to hell!" Erin spat at the agent.

She was left alone to her dimly lit prison and her thoughts. Her mind was constantly replaying everything that happened on over a year and a half ago. She wished to take back her words, she wished to control herself, and didn't she wish for those twins to live. Erin personally knew the Temple family; they were good people and only wanted their own child to love and embrace. They had _twins_, after fourteen years of praying for just one, they were going to get _twins_. Their happiness had only last a few hours before she lost control at the church. The screams of terror echoed in her head as she remembered climbing to the roof of the church and watching, horror-stricken. Prayers for God's mercy was the predominant of the many voices. Once the fire had started, she couldn't stop it.

It spread incredibly fast, burning everything imaginable. The damn asphalt in the streets were melted by the time it was over. The black fire had bounced from one person to another. Her childhood friends were the first to die; after witnessing her only friends in the world perish by her own hands caused Erin to lessen the little control as had on the death inferno. That's when it spread to the buildings, the cars, the ground itself was a lava pit. She had committed multiple attempts to jump into the blaze herself; to follow her friends, family, and neighbors. The black fire wouldn't touch her, morphing around her and avoiding her skin. Erin cried the entire time her hometown was ablaze.

Just as she was crying now. Constant rivers poured from her eyes and covered her cheeks. If she had one wish, it would to switch places with the twins. They were the youngest in Mountain Pass, never even opened their eyes. They were also the first babies in three years. The Temple Twins' death haunted Erin.

"I didn't mean to," she choked up as she imagined the twins. "You deserved a chance." _Just like Winter does. _Crying wasn't helping her situation, so she forced herself to swallow her feelings and cease the salty water running from her tear ducts. _He needs my help to get him away from HYDRA. I have to give him his best chance. For The Temple Twins. _

Rather than resuming her feeble actions of placing her palm on the clasps to free herself, she knew there was another way to use her shadows. Qlifhat's Tome had instructions for countless maneuvers with the shadows; only the basics required physically touching the surface where the shades lied. Truth be told, she was terrified to practice the more advanced techniques. The last time she did ended in fire. Of course, that was when she wasn't motivated to actively control herself. She was trying to showoff, brag about her hidden powers to everyone she knew. It took a lot more concentration to pull off Stage Two techniques, but this time was different. She needed to escape and retrieve her book. Erin absolutely had to get The Winter Soldier out of HYDRA's reach. _Even if it's the last thing I do._

Erin easily found a shadow she wanted to move. Focusing her mind to the shade, she held a stern gaze at it. She used the breathing she had read long ago and narrowed her eyes across the room. From the pit of her aching stomach, and filtered through her determined heart, the darkness in the corner began to shimmer. Continuing her breathing and concentration, she felt the darkness in herself surface to her eyes, coating them entirely black; the book had explained that this was necessary to connect to the shadows mentally. Once her bright green eyes turned black, she felt her heart relax a little. She willed the shadow to move to the left, and it did. Quickly, not wanting to hold this mental connection too long, she forced the shadow to wrap around her right clasp. Applying strong pressure, the restraint broke apart. The Shadow Stranger blinked away the darkness from her eyes to break the connection. The helpful shade returned to its original place. Without waiting for a black fire to spring up, Erin used her free hand to use Stage One techniques to release the rest of her limbs.

Crumbling to the floor below, The Shadow Stranger wasted no time stepping to the door and using a portal to walk through; determined to get Qlifhat's Tome back.


	6. Chapter 6

She was out, she had actually pulled off the heist. The black haired woman was now sitting in her lair under the abandoned doughnut shop. Her stomach had a small smoldering mark from the device Agent Romanoff had tossed to her along with a sore jaw. Erin had evaded SHIELD nearly unscaved. Her underground home was dimly lit with a corner lamp, allowing the exhausted woman sit in adjoining darkness to contemplate her previous actions in the government building. Laying in her palm was a piece of metal, cut in a thick circle. Averting her gaze to the far wall, Erin toyed with the circle, flipping it through her fingers and physically studying every detail of it. She knew what it was; a tracking device. The Shadow Stranger had willingly took it as an exchange for her book. Tilting her head back to stare unblinkingly at the ceiling, she recalled the conversation between her and the director of SHIELD.

At the time, Erin had easily evaded the unsuspecting men and women searching for her. She found herself hopelessly lost within the endless maze of the headquarters. The Shadow Stranger upheld her reputation by disappearing in the shadows and emerged at random points around the building. Eventually, she had wandered into one of the security rooms inside. After transferring the guards into her own cell, she was left alone to scan the cameras. The lobby area and the visible levels with civilians carried on their business, unaware that a "mass murderer" was loose in the secure walls. Erin watched the large monitors and quickly found nothing that would led her to believe her book was kept in the higher levels. She came to the conclusion that they must have it somewhere below the surface. Swearing under her breath that she would have to return to the labyrinth underground, The Shadow Stranger kicked away a chair in frustration. Before she could create a portal, a land-line began to ring. She looked curiously at the phone with a raised eyebrow and slightly worried face. Choosing to ignore it, like any sensible criminal would, something from one of the monitors caught her ears. A constant thudding drew her attention back to the screens. In one of the offices, a notebook was tapping against the camera. The words "pick up the phone" was written with thick black marker.

The notebook was removed to reveal Director Fury standing in the center of the view, holding a phone to his ear. He nodded to her; causing Erin to become overfilled with curiosity. She grabbed the phone but did not speak into it.

"Ah, there you are. Afraid my security staff was sleeping again," he smiled to the camera in his corner office. Erin kept her mouth shut as he stepped away from the view. "Could you tell Agent Semms that I finally finished that book of his and he can come and get it at his earliest convenience." Still nonspeaking, Erin narrowed her green eyes at the screen with Director Fury in it. The bold man gave a look back at her, as if giving her a message. He hung up the conversation and returned to his desk. With his back to the camera, something happened that caused the camera to cut out and immediately change to a different office; this one was clearly unimportant. _Does that son of a bitch have my book?_ Never in her wildest dreams did she expect to pay the director of SHIELD a visit during her heist; now, he was particularly begging her to enter his office. Slamming the land-line down, Erin stormed to the wall and quickly created a portal, leading from the security room to Director Fury.

Easily stepping through her shadow portal, she emerged into the half glass office. The view overlooked many of the capitals historical landmarks, The Washington Memorial, The Tomb of The Unknown Soldier, and a small portion of Capitol Hill. Erin wasn't focused on the impressive scenery; her bitter cold gaze rested on the man looking out the windows. She glanced around the remarkable office in case Black Window was hiding behind the sofa or under the desk.

"Man, that was fast," Director Fury said, continuing to look outward.

Erin remained where she stood, close to the wall and a hand pressed against it.

"Don't worry, you can speak freely here," he crossed his wrists behind him, "I secured the room, security cameras are offline, doors triple locked, and tinted windows so no one can see inside."

She didn't reply.

"It's meant to be impregnable. Of course, that was before we realized your abilities," the man glanced over his shoulder to her. "They are quite extraordinary."

"Where is it?" she gathered enough confidence to snarl at him. She wasn't in the mood to casually chat with the man who hunted her down and labeled her a monster.

He chuckled a little, shaking his head, "You know, its hard to take you seriously without shoes," he used the reflection in the spotless windows to watch Erin. She couldn't help but subtly glance down at her feet, colored pale with red toes from the chilling floor beneath her. She curled her toes to pump blood into them. "Now, I need something from you."

"Well, I'm sure we can make a deal," Erin carefully watched Director Fury walk to his large desk, turning more in her direction.

"That's the ultimate goal," Fury seemed unafraid of her; but she didn't want to take any chances. Keeping her guard up, she held her lips tightly together, only speaking when she felt it was absolutely necessary. "I saw what you did; for Agents Ward and Dunn," he nodded out the windows, Erin guessed he saw the whole ordeal. "Why did you go back for them? Why not leave them in the concrete? You would have had a higher chance at avoiding Agent Romanoff that way."

"I have my reasons."

Fury took a second to attempt to read her mind; she wasn't giving up her motivates that easily.

Erin noticed this, and chose her next words carefully, "I'm not a monster, or terrorist; if that's what you think."

He broke a short-lived smile, "We can deliberate for hours who is a terrorist. Or, we can cut to the case and be out of each others hair."

The Shadow Stranger didn't answer, silently waiting for him to explain himself.

"You see, it has been brought to my attention that I might require your special talents in the near future."

No reply escaped her lips.

The Director padded his fingers together, hoping for her to answer. When she didn't, he continued, "If what I suspect is true, then our alliance with one another will be short lived. It's only a precaution."

"Why ask a terrorist for help?" she condescended.

"I have my reasons," his voice was grim and stern.

_Another copycat game._ Erin shifted her weight uneasily. "What do you need?"

He relaxed a little, easing back in his chair and moving his hands to his lap. She immediately suspected that he had a gun, hidden from her point of view. Taking mental notes, Erin decided to not provoke Fury from shooting her. She wasn't fond of getting shot at, so she wanted to avoid any conflict. "All I _need_, is to know where you're hiding. I know you've been in D.C. for a while now. But, it appears that we cannot find your hideout," Erin silently doubted that was true, but she didn't dare speak up her thoughts, "If my theories are correct, then I would need to disappear quickly."

"Then just disappear," she plainly stated. "It isn't that hard."

"For you, no. However, for the rest of us, without the shadow manipulation thing, we rely on the old-fashioned way."

Erin rolled her eyes at him. She only used her shadows when it was necessary. Essentially, she never wanted to run and hide for the rest of her life, using portals to travel from Nevada to Maryland in less than five minutes. Running was not her goal in life.

"Will you help me?" Director Fury simply asked.

"If I say yes, you'll give me back the book?"

"Of course-"

"I'll need more than that," she immediately added in. Fury was surprised as much as she was; however, she couldn't miss this opportunity. "I need it all gone. Everything about me, Mountain Pass, it has to be erased. No records, pictures, names, birth and death certificates. Everything deleted."

She wasn't too sure what she was asking, for a fresh start? Or for everyone to eventually forget about her name? All she knew was that she didn't want such a terrible label as "terrorist" or "murderer." She was acting solely for her own benefit. Her mind did drift back to the origin of why she was there, to help Winter rid HYDRA for good. But, before she could throw in some conditions to aid him, Director Fury had already answered.

"Deal," he said confidently.

The Shadow Stranger dropped her tense shoulders and exhaled loudly; was she really going to have Fury erase Mountain Pass, Colorado off the map? Is that truly what she desired for her hometown? All her life, she dreamed to give Mountain Pass the name and recognition it deserved, now she wanted nothing to do with that black pit in the middle of the mountains.

"Okay," she replied, her mind still lingering at her previous thoughts, but decided that she wanted to leave before he had changed his mind.

"Okay then," Director Fury slid a drawer open next to him. Erin was speechless of her actions and stood like a statue. He retrieved her thickly bond book with weathered pages. Holding it up with both hands, he walked over and offered it to her.

A hesitation of disbelief emitted from her, still confused and worried. When she reached to take it, Fury tilted it back, as if silently telling her to wait.

"Ah," she averted her eyes to him, "You will need to keep this on you, always." Fishing in his pocket for a second, he pulled out a cell phone. "And, leave this at your hideout." Fully opening his hand revealed a small circular device. "If I need you, I will either call you or follow this tracker."

"How can I trust you?"

"The same way that I can't trust you to actually keep the phone or locator."

"I don't understand," she confessed her confusion, "Why ask for my help?"

"You said that you weren't a terrorist, take these, and prove it."

"What are you afraid of that you would risk such a thing?" She nodded to her large tome and openly wondered his motives.

"Let's just say I'm afraid of the _real_ terrorists. But, this is just a precaution."

They stared at each others eyes, searching for their true purposes.

"What about the other stuff?" she weakly asked, unsure she should even request such a monstrous thing.

"If and when this whole thing blows over, I'll be sure to personally destroy all records of Mountain Pass."

_But how could you do that if you have to hide? _She knew better than to prolong this conversation. Erin could tell that further interrogation would be fruitless, and she needed to get her tome back for Winter's sake.

She settled her demons that even if he couldn't erase Mountain Pass, she would still help him; to an extend. The Winter Soldier needed her a lot more than Fury did. Whatever he was scared of, it must be drastic in order to seek her aide.

Director Fury placed the phone and tracker on the cover of the book and offered them to her again, "So we have a deal?"

A significantly shorter hesitation this time before she grabbed all three trinkets. "Yeah, we got a deal."

Afterward, she had immediately created a long-distant portal to take her directly back to her doughnut shop. That's where she sat for at least twenty minutes, staring around her darkened lair and fiddling with the tracker. The phone was resting on her couch next to her, constantly reminding her of her new agreement with Director Fury. She couldn't understand why she wanted everything from her hometown to be gone; too many painful memories? Was she ashamed? Probably, that was what caused her life from simple mountain girl to spiral into this mess that could barely be recognized as living. Using fake names, jumping from state to state, hiding in abandoned restaurants, and never keeping any friends, this was not living. It was running.

Hopefully, after all things of her hometown had been deleted, she could move on and settle in a small town. She never liked the big cities. Always busy, loud, full of angry people. No one knew each other, and, worst of all, she never could get to see the night sky or cloud watch from soft grass. Getting a serious case of homesick, Erin knew she would never get to enjoy those pleasures again. All she could do was soldier on.

She doubted Director Fury would need her assistance so soon after their deal, so she focused as much as she could on her book. Switching on more lights, Erin began to flip through the yellowed pages. During the year and a half that she didn't have the book, she had forgotten how utterly difficult it was to read; every possible word could be substituted with a much easier one. Big words weren't even the problem. Key words within the text were written in a strange language that didn't seem human. The markings were littered all over the pages, forcing Erin to guess what the translation would be.

A diagram was drawn on the pages of more advanced techniques; according to what she had briefly glanced over near the back of the book, if she perfected her Stage Two lessons, she could control people's movements, make them fight for her or lie for her. However, Erin didn't need such development. Scanning more of the "easier" lessons, she finally found the technique she was looking for. Across the top read "Memory Retrieval," and the directions under it was short and vague. To the side, a picture of three fingers were resting on the brow of another person. She read, reread and actively studied every word on the page. A footnote was near the bottom, informing her that the person could slip into an unconscious state if they followed their own trail in their mind.

Of course, the first few times she read the ambiguous instructions, she didn't understand. It referred to "entering their mind," "searching for the trauma," and "extracting it." It was more of a surgery procedure rather than shadow manipulation. It hardly made sense to her. When she was younger, she found that practicing the techniques made it easier to comprehend. It was scary though; the directions made it sound as though she would be inside his mind, physically looking for whatever, and removing it. The footnote wasn't building her confidence either; "if the patient commences to unconsciousness, substantial action must be taken to increase pulse. If descended too far, patient's essence will be disorientated." _Why can't something be easy with this damn book?_ Naturally, she took extra precautions to ensure Winter wouldn't fall into a irretrievable coma. She needed a vessel for the memories, once she had extracted them; so, a simple water bottle would have to do. Hopefully, she didn't need to remove too many memories before he became the man he once was.

Ticking just after four in the afternoon, Erin left the access to the roof unlocked (partially because it was still broken), and the step ladder from the refrigerator open. Her nerves shown as she paced the basement and took heavy breathes. Constantly cracking her knuckles and popping her neck, The Shadow Stranger wondered if she was actually capable of performing such a task. It was under Stage Three, and she wasn't comfortable doing any Stage Two. Before she could figure out a way to weasel out of doing this procedure, her attention snapped to the step ladder.

The Winter Soldier was leaning against the back wall while quietly waiting for her to notice him. His dark brown hair lined his face, which was half covered by a menacing mask. As usual, his black garb was layered on thickly over his muscles except for his left arm to expose the metal coils and red star painted on the shoulder. His sudden and silent appearance startled Erin, making her flinch and gasp.

"Jesus," she placed a hand over her racing heart, "Don't you ever knock?"

He tilted his head, giving a slight expression with his eyes.

She rolled her eyes and walked up to him, "Do you have to wear that?" Erin gestured to his mask, "It's ominous and a little creepy."

Winter dropped his crossed arms and eased it off his face, looking a little confused at the black material. Erin sighed with relief; she felt more comfortable around him when she could see his whole face. It made him look less like a soldier, or assassin, and more like a regular man.

"Thank you," she said honestly.

He glanced up passed her, "Is that your book?"

Erin followed his gaze to the coffee table, "Yeah, that's it."

"Then why are we waiting?" Winter walked around her to check the large, open tome that took up the majority of the table. Rather than answering right away, she allowed him to study the pages; to him, they would appear blank. "I don't understand," he turned a few pages to examine the other sides, which only led to further bewilderment, "It's empty."

"To your eyes," she said, joining him in front of the couch. "It's a bit difficult to explain, but I swear, there's something in there to help you." As she suspected, Winter narrowed his dark eyes at her. Before he could speak up his anger or qualms about the tome, she elaborated. "Only one person can read it at a time. I know this sounds stupid, but it's almost like a rite of passage. I didn't believe it at first either, but trust me, I know what I have to do." Erin remembered having a similar discussion with one of her childhood friends back in Mountain Pass; hopefully, these two situations will have completely different outcomes. "Here, I'll read it to you."

She rushed to sit down and lay the book on her lap, patiently waiting for Winter to take the hint to sit next to her. Once he did, she cleared her throat and resorted to second grade reading, using her index finger to follow the lines. She read it carefully, attempting to sound as though she knew what she was talking about. Erin finished repeating the instructions and the warning in the footnote to be met by Winter's unhindered gaze. It was strange, normally, people would stare at her book when she read from it, thinking her crazy for such descriptions. But, he was staring at her. Eyes unblinking and face expressionless, Erin raised an eyebrow at him. She placed the book back on the table and turned towards him. Her natural reactions when anyone would stare at her was to get out of their line of sight; however, this time, she was a little angry.

"Dude," she scoffed, "Did you hear anything I said?" Erin couldn't help but remind herself of a nagging girlfriend.

Winter seemed to subtly snap out of his trance and focused back to Erin, but he didn't answer.

Rolling her green eyes, she sighed, "This is your part, and it's kinda important." She faced him entirely, to better convey how serious it was. "I'll be inside your head, looking for what's blocking your older memories. It's crucial that you don't think about anything, otherwise you could go into a coma, and I won't be able to get you out." Erin kept her visual contact fierce and stern. She didn't want him to slip away when they were so close to freeing him from HYDRA. "You can do that, right?"

"I'll try."

That's all she could ask of him. She wasn't entirely confident that she would be able to pull off this technique, but she would do her best.

"Alright," she nodded a little, still attempting to gain the courage to actually perform this procedure. "It suggested that you are asleep, are you tired?"

"I don't sleep," Winter replied dryly.

Another awkward nod from the black haired woman, "That's fine, but you _have_ to have an empty mind. So," she wiped her sweaty palms on her pants, "You ready?"

He never answered verbally, but the determination in his eyes shouted loudly enough. Erin adjusted herself to sit on her knees and rolled her shoulders. Inhaling a deep breath, she glanced for the correct position of her fingers to his brow. Raising three fingers above the bridge of his nose, the two locked eyes; his unafraid and confident in her abilities, and her green orbs lacking in assurance. Before closing her eyes, she pressured her inner darkness from her stomach, traveling through her speeding heart, and had it coat her eyes once again. The Winter Soldier seemed unfazed by her eye change or he just didn't display his shock. Erin shut her blackened eyes and channeled the darkness from her to transfer to Winter. It took a minute, a few mistakes of misunderstanding what the book was referring to, but she did eventually enter his cloudy mind.

To say the experience was outlandish, eccentric, or bizarre would not explain how she truly felt. All around her, she was standing in a misty haze. The gray fog fluttered by her legs, giving a small light source. Everything above the haze wasn't necessarily black, just distance. The horizon seemed far off and small compared to herself. Erin circled a tiny circumference, keeping her eyes wide open for any sign. In here, she didn't have her trusted book as a guide; apparently, she would have to improvise what to do. _The longer I'm in his mind, the more likely he could start to fall. Gotta hurry._ Picking a random direction, she began to run.

No matter how fast she thought she was sprinting, she never reached an end. The horizon kept its distance, always drifting away. Her head was spinning around to try to find anything that could resemble memories. She suspected it would be in liquid form, or at least, that's what the book had led her to believe. _Wait, the mist, maybe?_ She immediately ceased running and dropped to her knees. Carefully pooling together as much of the gray fog as she could, Erin kept her eyes open for anything that would stand out. A flashback, memory, hell, a simple math problem would work. But she couldn't find anything.

"What the hell is this?" she voiced her concerns. "There has to be something here. Where's the memory of his mission earlier today?" _There has to be at least that here. _

Frustrated, she jumped up while grinding her teeth. Glancing upward, she felt her body become unresponsive to her commands. The scenery altered completely. Rather than standing in a gray fog in the middle of nowhere, she was standing on a busy street. The surrounding buildings were fairly tall, not quite skyscraper, but they had billboards on them for a local news channel. _I know that news team_. She only had a second before her head moved on its own, facing away from the buildings and to a quickly approaching black SUV. She could see multiple bullet holes, the windows broken, and the front bumper smashed it, but still operational. _It's gonna hit me!_ Erin began to panic and increased her efforts to leap out of the way. _What the hell is happening?!_ Her body moved in it's own way again; swinging up an impressive gun, she could just barely see her arms, one was covered in black, while the other was coiled in metal. Squeezing the trigger, a strange round flew from the barrel of the large machine and slid across the gap towards the SUV. It slammed itself to the underbelly of the armored SUV. Erin had a moment to look at the driver of the vehicle; an African American male with an eye-patch. _Fury?_ Before her theory could be confirmed, the odd round from her gun exploded in between the front tires. Black smoke and orange fire blasted the front end of the SUV to flip backwards onto its back. The momentum continued to press forward to her. Taking a calm step away to allow the sliding and burning SUV to pass, Erin followed the horribly damaged vehicle until it finally stopped. _Holy shit!_ Powerful strides brought her next to the flipped SUV. Using an abnormally strong grip, she ripped off a car door and tossed it away effortlessly. _Am I seeing this from Winter's point of view?_ Kneeling down, she looked into the cabin of the SUV; a square was welded away as well as part of the street under it; his target had escaped.

"He got away," she sighed a breath of relief; she had witnessed enough death for one life.

The Shadow Stranger finally had control over her body and hastily backed away. Once turned around, the setting had resorted to the original way it was, hazy with no true horizon or edge. Running her shaken hands through her hair, Erin tried to relax herself to figure out what had just happened.

"My God, what the hell was that?" she whispered out loud.

"You wanted to know about my mission," Winter's voice sounded behind her. Horror-stricken, she spun around to see The Winter Soldier stand a couple feet away. "So, I thought about my mission," he finished.

"No, no," she said, shaking her head, "You can't do that. You have to let me-"

"But I can hear you."

"I'm talking to myself," she rushed out. "Winter, this is dangerous." _Was this what the book was talking about, "the patient descending?" Is he losing his mind?_ "You can't think about anything!."

"I know, but there's something I have to tell you."

"Not now! Winter, you have to stop!"

"You're in _my_ mind, you're going to find out sooner or later."

"Then later!" she pleaded with him. "The longer you're thinking-" However it was too late.

The image of Winter seemed to duplicate itself. Erin watched as the two soldiers divided again, making four. There was a hesitation among the four, all looking at each other with confused faces and raised eyebrows. They were all in sync as they crossed their arms in disbelief and curiosity. Erin stepped back, terrified of what she was seeing. _Was this the warning?_

"I have to leave," she muttered to herself, forgetting that Winter could hear everything she said. All four copies immediately turned to her.

"Wait!" they said in unison, "I have to tell you!"

"Not now!" she demanded.

Covering her ears from whatever was so important, she cradled her head to block out all four of the copies. _This is freaking crazy!_ When she had read the book, it never mentioned how to exit the patient's mind. More improvising; she automatically regretted ever doing this. _You have to leave. It's gone wrong. Get out. Holy shit, get out!_

As if her prayers were answered, when she opened her eyes, she felt the darkness immediately drain from her eyes. Once she could see, Erin found Winter sitting next to her on her soft couch. His eyes were closed and her fingers were still touching above his brow. She snatched her hand well away from his head and pushed herself back, not shaming herself for taking extra precaution and adding some distance from him.

"Son of a bitch, man!" she scowled at Winter. "I told you not to do that!" She shoved his shoulder back, releasing some bottled in anger. Because of his strong physique, she expected him to bounce back; instead, his body landed on the cushions behind him. Erin noticed his eyes were still closed. "Hey, wake up," she said in a much softer tone. Using her left hand, her non-dominant hand, she lightly shook his arm. He didn't respond. "Winter?" For every second he didn't show any response, her heart began to sink deeper into her stomach. Moving closer to him, she rested a hand on his chest, searching for a heartbeat. It was just barely there. "Oh crap," she uttered. Jumping from his chest to just under his chin, she checked for his pulse. With her own racing heart throbbing in her hands, she could scarcely feel his pulse. It felt as though it was fleeting. "Oh shit."


	7. Chapter 7

"No no," Erin pushed her black locks out of her face and behind her ears, allowing a slightly larger area to frantically look around. "You can't, Winter. Dammit, not when we're so close!" Twisting and turning her head across her basement, Erin immediately began to panic. "What do I do? Jesus, what the hell do I do?!" It took her longer than she cared to admit to actually reread the instructions in her book. She skipped the paragraph about how to perform the technique and went straight for the footnote. "If the patient commences to unconsciousness, substantial action must be taken to increase pulse," she read out loud. "What does that mean?" she shouted in frustration.

Throwing the book onto the couch, the frantic girl sat close to the assassin. She kept two fingers pressed against his upper neck. "Calm down, remember what happened last time things didn't work out," she took a quick deep breath, silently reminding herself of her hometown incident. Erin had lost control once, and killed seven hundred and eighty eight people; she would be damned if Winter was added to her body count. "Hell no, not today," she vowed.

Rather than continuously reading the footnote, she thought back to what she learned years ago. Qlifhat's native language was definitely not English, that was obvious. She had taught herself the difference between what he wrote from what he meant. _Substantial action, I've had to do that before. Didn't I have to use CPR? But, that was to __**maintain**_ _the pulse, not increase it. _"Well, how do I jump start his heart?" she spoke aloud.

Her mind was spinning and her hands were twitching with an endless supply of nerves. Erin created an incredibly short list of things that made her own heart beat erratically; sudden scares, confrontations, impending danger or fighting. Although she was in a frenzy, she still had enough wits about her to know that there wasn't a hope to scare Winter out of comatose. Besides, she didn't have the slightest idea how to scare a trained assassin anyway. Confrontations; that was a joke. There was no way she could pull him back with that. Her book had said "action," which usually meant physical activity. Maybe she could stimulate a fake fight to wake him up? _I better make it fast._

Keeping Winter leaning on the back cushions of the couch, The Shadow Stranger awkwardly positioned herself, holding her tiny balled fists at chest level and bending her knees. "You better not hurt me," she whispered, hoping that he would listen. She wasn't a fighter, so when she threw her fist across his face, the only thing it accomplished was drawing back an aching hand. Quiet swear words escaped her mouth while she regained her composure enough to check his neck for his pulse; barely there. "You're not dying. Not today," she bit her lip and jumped to a fresh idea in her mind. Scooping Qlifhat's book, and holding it tightly with both hands, she swung the heavy literate against his cheeks. Erin was hoping that the added weight from the book would kick start his heart more than her inadequate punch. Placing two fingers back under his chin, she could just feel small throbs; but it wasn't enough. The tome even said "substantial action." However, she felt that there should be an easier way to bring him back, rather than beating him awake. _What else makes my heart race?_ Racking her hair back again, she glanced around the basement, hoping to find something to aid her. A small stack of her criminal novels was stacked next to the workbench; the top one was _The Count of Monte Cristo._ "Could that work?" she wondered to herself. The book was about a man being framed and sent to prison. Upon breaking out, he finds his fiancee married to the man who framed him; he became obsessed to murder the man and win back the love of his life. _Love and passion increases pulse._

"Oh God, please let this work," Erin hopped onto the cushions next to her comatose friend and leaned in close to him. Using delicate hands, she turned his head to face her. Leaving two fingers pressed against his right wrist, she kept her free hand to cradle his weak head. Before she could over think, Erin applied steady pressure from her lips to his. Once their lips were interlocked, out of habit, she closed her eyes. There was a jolt in his pulse; she was able to feel it slowly working its way back to a conscious level. _Substantial,_ she reminded herself. A simple kiss would not suffice. Erin resorted to her minimal experience in making out in order to further increase his heartbeat.

After a short moment of moving her lips, she could feel Winter's breathing quicken. According to her fingers to his wrist, his pulse was picking up as well. She didn't want to take the slight chance of ending too soon and he slip into a coma, so Erin kept at it. Winter's mechanical arm caused her body to flinch when it shot around her waist and drew her in closer. She never expected that to happen. Strangely enough, she found herself to like it, being lead by him. His large hand rested on the small of her back, keeping a steady tension to keep her leaned on him. Erin couldn't help but take notice of her own heartbeat, only because it was beating out of her chest. She was sure he could feel her rapid throbbing through her locked lips.

Once she was certain she had brought him back from the threat of oblivion, she lightly pushed her face away from his to check to see if he had his eyes open. At first, they were closed, however, after he realized that her lips were absent, Winter forced his eyelids apart in confusion.

Erin was immediately relieved, expressing so with a loud sigh and pushing her black hair completely out of her blushing face. Winter held his brows pinched forward as he removed his arms away from Erin and readjusted himself to sit more comfortably. She did not move; for the sole reason that she secretly want to stay close to him. But she soon realized that he was bewildered, to say the least. Rather than acting on her newly found desire to continue her previous actions, she altered her facial expression to one of anger.

"Do you remember what I told you before we started?" her loud tone snapped his attention back to her, still confused. "You couldn't consciously think of anything while I was in there. Your mind couldn't understand why there were two separate entities in your head, so it began over compensating for me. That's why there were those copies of you." Winter was straining his eyes to replay the events in his head; if he couldn't remember what happened, Erin sure as hell jog his memory.

He didn't vocally reply.

"So," she said, resuming her scowling without his reactions, "What was so damn important that couldn't wait?" Crossing her arms over her chest, to display further disapproval and to better conceal her racing heart, Erin pushed herself away from him.

"I-" he couldn't seem to speak his questions clearly, however that didn't faze Erin. She wanted to know and she was more than willing to wait. "What was that?" Winter spoke quietly and avoided Erin's cold green eyes.

"You not listening."

"No, the, uh," he began to stammer and paused to think of how to better phrase his question. When words failed him, The Winter Soldier finally glanced at her, using his hand to quickly indicate the two by pointing at himself and her. "What was that?" he asked again while gesturing to them.

"Oh," she realized what he was asking. She still sounded harsh, so she softened her voice, in an attempt to prevent him getting embarrassed when she explained. "Well," she swallowed her anger and lightly cleared her throat, "It's called making out, it's what couples do to express their affection for one another." She felt her cheeks get touched with pink again; she never imagined having to clarify what making out was to someone. However, it was understandable; he was HYDRA's secret weapon, only using him when necessary to assassinate someone they couldn't handle. Expecting someone like him to know actual human affection was just preposterous. "When a couple does that," she continued, feeling the need to explain her intentions, "It makes their heart race. And, according to the book, I had to perform 'substantial action' to 'increase pulse.'"

"Is that why my faces hurts?" he asked while rubbing his right cheek.

Erin couldn't help but chuckle. She had forgotten that she hit him with the book before figuring out a better solution. Her soft chuckle escalated to a heartfelt laugh, as she relived her ridiculous actions from the past ten minutes. He turned to her, wondering why she was laughing at him.

"Actually, before I starting kissing you, I thought that if I simulated you in a fight, you would wake up. So, I uh, used my book to hit you across the face," Winter snapped his head in shock at Erin. She honestly felt bad for hitting him, but she laughed it off. Holding a hand to cover her goofy grin, Erin couldn't remember the last time she had gave a genuine smile to anyone. Winter was silently staring at her, giving her the impression that he didn't find it very amusing. "I'm sorry," she said, holding back more laughter, "I was panicking and I didn't want to lose you." She defended against his emotionless eyes. When he still didn't answer, Erin dropped her smile a little. "Please, I'm sorry. Really. And I won't do it again."

"Do what again?" he inquired, still blank face.

She shifted under his uncomfortable gaze, "The memory thing. Entering your mind. Honestly, I don't feel comfortable trying again. And, I'm sure you don't want me in there again." _What did he think I meant?_ "And," she continued when he didn't seemed to be pleased with her explanation, "I won't use my book to hit you across the face." Her cheerful smile and laugh died away completely as The Winter Soldier remained silent, staring intently at her. "I'm sorry, please, forgive me?" She wasn't sure if he would answer, but she couldn't sit in the harsh stillness anymore. Erin would give anything to just hear him accept her apology.

The Winter Soldier never answered her; at least, not right away. He stood from the couch and rolled his shoulders, easing away the stiffness in his joints. Erin suspected that he no longer wanted her help; if he wouldn't forgive her, then she would be damn sure to break him away from HYDRA. She jumped up right next to him, with one final question lingering on her mind.

"You said you were going to give me a distraction with your mission," she didn't necessarily wanted to change the topic, but she was incredibly curious about what she saw while in his head, "Was your mission to kill Nick Fury?"

He glanced at her, still with a blank stare. Although she didn't appreciate his immense control of facial features, she wasn't letting up. She never got a good look at the man who was speeding down the street in the SUV, but she had a nagging suspicion that the director of SHIELD was under The Winter Soldier's scope.

"I don't know," he shrugged his muscular shoulders. "A level 10 SHIELD agent. That's all I know."

_Level 10? That vaguely sounds like Fury._ She didn't push the fact that Winter had a lack of knowledge for his intended target. Maybe it was easier for him to eliminate someone if he didn't know their name. He was human after all, no matter what HYDRA tried to instill in him. Erin nodded and allowed her thoughts to drift around the idea of Director Fury severely injured; had he called her while she was attending Winter? She should check the cell phone he had given her once she remembered where it disappeared to.

Winter was apparently done discussing anything with Erin. He scooped up his black mask from the table and began walking to the step ladder out of the basement. Erin couldn't let him leave; not yet.

"I will get you out," she called after him. He stopped in his tracks, facing the ladder, but glanced over his shoulder at her. Erin took the opportunity to run up to him; with a dead serious expression and genuine concern in her tone, she continued, "This was a hiccup, but I don't care. I _will_ get you away from HYDRA. No matter what. No more excuses. I'm getting you out." Her stern green eyes piercing through Winter's dark ones to ensure he knew that she was determined to free him from that horrible origination.

Surprised at his next movement, Winter reached for her head, gently laying his hands on both of her ears. He leaned her head down a little and placed a soft kiss on her forehead. Erin eyes shot wide open for the affection from the trained assassin. She never expected him to show such a tender side. Leading her head back up to his eyes, he held a softer gaze.

"Don't follow me," he said, more as a request than a warning.

Without Erin answering, he turned and step upstairs. She stood, filled with mixed emotions; most of which were pleasantly surprised. It didn't matter, once she had regained her senses, she attempted to chase after him. She must have remained unmoving for a while, either that or Winter had disappeared into the dusk around her doughnut shop unexpectedly fast. Retreating back to her basement, she leaned against a wall, replaying their last moment together. Her heart would flutter and eventually sank into her feet, causing her to sink to the ground under her. Just as she hadn't smiled since before Mountain Pass, she couldn't remember a time when her heart danced in her chest. What was she feeling? It was strange, but she liked it. Of course, she had had boyfriends in her teen years, but none of which actually made her weak at the knees. Erin couldn't understand why she began feeling such strong emotions towards Winter, and she doubted she could stop them. She only hoped that she could free him and he got a chance to live a life; with or without her. Erin had already swore that she would get him out, even if it was the last thing she would do. Now, she wished to continue to live. More or less with The Winter Soldier.

* * *

**So, I hope you all enjoy the little intimacy between the two! However, I'll just clarify some things for a few people. **

**To the guest review about the distraction: The Winter Soldier knew he was going to attack level 10 SHIELD agent, and since that's the "highest" level of clearance anyone can get, he figured it would provide her a decent distraction to sneak in and get her book. I did my best to mention that throughout this chapter, but I just wanted to make it as clear as possible for the future. **

**I'm trying to keep it along the timeline of the movie, but of course this will go past the movie. So sorry for any confusion and I'll try harder in the later chapters!**


	8. Chapter 8

Later that evening, Erin's suspicions about Winter's mission was confirmed. According to the breaking news, Director Nicholas Fury was shot and pronounced dead at 9:04. That was all she could actually remember of the interrupting news report. There was a small portion about naming a new director for SHIELD, someone by Pierce. Her mind seemed to shut off for a while, seeing what Winter did to his SUV earlier that day. The disc of a grenade propelling through the air and slamming itself under the front wheels of Fury's SUV replayed constantly as she stared into nothingness. The screeching sound from the front bumper scraping the asphalt right in front of her made her skin crawl and her teeth grind in empathy. As the vehicle skid across the black surface, Erin remembering that she wanted to jump out of the way, but it was Winter's memory; he had waited a lot longer for him to move than she had liked. Next was when he used his mechanical arm to rip the car door off; she had felt how powerful it was and could sense that the metal limb was holding back strength. How strong was that arm of his?

The confirmation of Fury's death left Erin wondered if Winter had left to finish his mission, since Fury escaped well before the night hours. It was very likely that The Winter Soldier had to eliminate the director after their interactions with each other. Was that why he didn't want her to follow him? So he could complete the assassination? Very possible. Did that mean he would come back the same night?

He never did. She had spent the remaining night hours waiting. When it ticked around eleven, she busied herself with her book, reviewing everything she had learned in Mountain Pass. Stage One was the fundamentals and the risks of using the shadows. However, she enjoyed the part about actually starting out, about finding her tranquility. It gave a few examples on how to find your own tranquility, peace on Earth, love, it all depended on what type of person the manipulator was. Erin had found her's long ago; it was a childish type of inner peace, but it still worked for her. She felt that there was good in everyone. Since meeting The Winter Soldier, she knew it was more true than ever; if a man who's been trained to be nothing more than a weapon had a good heart, than everyone had one. It was always a matter of circumstance.

She honestly worried if her tranquility had changed; the tome was clear that many manipulators have had people be their centers. A strong connection, whether a child or soulmate, gave the manipulators a stronger connection to their shadows. However, almost every time they used a person for their tranquility, their anchor that weighed them down died long before the manipulator. If a manipulator loses sight of their tranquility, or if their significant other dies, it always ended the same; the shadow master would plummet into madness. Erin wondered if her tranquility shifted from everyone's good hearts to simply Winter. It was confusing to tell for certain, and it annoyed her that there was no easy way to know. A few test runs showed that she still had the power, but regardless of what she was thinking of, her shadows were weak. "Internal conflicting tranquility can result in minimal connection," she whispered to herself.

Hours began to pass her as she went on a soul searching training. She was no help to Winter if she couldn't perform the basic techniques. Erin couldn't ignore this issue; if she was going to get Winter away from HYDRA, then she needed to recenter her tranquility. She was only scared that he would end up being her new center; she didn't want him to die and she didn't want to descend into madness. So, proceeding to the Stage One instructions on how to find her inner peace, Erin drifted into a mediation so deep that she searched for hours for her serenity. To The Shadow Stranger, only a few minutes passed her before she emerged, for the rest of the world, nearly two days had gone. What brought her back was her hunger; at that point, she hadn't eaten for almost three days. Erin was frustrated that her tranquility search would have to wait until she feed herself. Before leaving her basement, she realized that a shower wasn't a bad idea either.

Because her tranquility was a question at the moment, she didn't want to risk using her shadows; she was all too familiar with the consequences. So, she settled with using a fake name to rent a car and a motel just a few streets away. Erin didn't like the idea of staying so near to her base of operations, but she couldn't walk anymore with the lack of food. After scrubbing away three days of grime and changing into a fresh outfit, Erin took a moment to remember how to drive. The steering wheel was familiar, but all the gadgets on the dashboard confused her. Rearview camera? Oncoming sensors? Why in the hell would she need to check Facebook while driving? Those all seemed unnecessary for her. In fact, they seemed more distracting than helpful to her. So, Erin shut off all of the devices and simply drove away from the small motel.

Not wanting to actually make her own meal, she spent the extra forty minutes to drive across the capitol to one of her favorite restaurants. Eating over half of a party platter, The Shadow Stranger paid the large bill and packed the rest in containers to bring back. It was just before noon when she got on the freeway back to Jessica Glew's motel room across town. Quietly listening to the radio as she drove, a commercial informed her that Captain America, Steve Rogers, was still being searched for. "A manhunt?" she muttered to herself. "For the most patriotic man in existence?" _And Nick Fury being scared and seeking her help, what is this world coming to?_ Something wasn't adding up. Was this the work of HYDRA, or was it another invasion like in New York?

While she was driving, just before the overpass at Russell, traffic had been stalled. None of the other cars were moving, but, according to her dashboard monitor, there wasn't an accident on the bridge. "So what's the hold up?" Within walking distance in front of her, Erin saw a few men in black tactical uniforms stopping the vehicles. _Shit, SHIELD._ Were they looking for her? Did they suspect her of murdering Fury? As if she could get away with the truth, that he actually asked for her help. Watching the men carefully, she narrowed her eyes when she saw large assault rifles being carried. _That's not right; they wouldn't pack that much firepower on a civilian street_. Erin had seen their tactical teams before, back in Boston when they first apprehended her. The one in Boston wore their badges on the outside of their vests and kept their rifles hostered. _A terrorist group? Are they trying to look like SHIELD?_ Sighing in resentment, Erin realized that nothing was going to get done if she just waited. If they were really looking for her, then she would give them a chase and then slip away; it would be tricky with her shadows, but she couldn't just wait around all day.

Exiting her rental car, Erin popped her knuckles as she walked in between the still vehicles. Well before she could interrogate the tactical team, multiple gun shots rang throughout the air. She dropped to her knees and pressed herself to the door of a minivan. Desperately, she scanned under the frame of the minivan, trying to get a visual of where the shots were coming from. They quickly stopped, only to be replaced with a loud explosion. Erin scuttled away from the scene, seeing gray smoke emit from a compact car. "Holy crap," she muttered.

Drivers and passengers began to shuffle out of their parked cars and run in the opposite direction of the shots. A family poured out of the minivan, a mother holding a baby and the father carrying a young girl away. A quick memory brought her back to Mountain Pass; she was at the county hospital. In her arms were The Temple Twins. Although she had thin arms, she was careful to cradle their heads evenly and rested their bodies near her chest. Mr. and Mrs. Temple were crying with joy, so incredibly thrilled to have their own children. Their own _biological_ children. She remembered being envious of the Temple Twins; they would've had each other, growing up together as brother and sister. Erin pushed the twins back to their parents, all but refusing to even look at them any longer. Their tiny pink faces and little sausage fingers grabbing at her long black curls. That was the first time she felt the darkness in her appear in her eyes. Mr. and Mrs. Temple had seen her eyes as dark as space and became frightened; calling her a _demon._ She remembered running.

Another, a bit more distant, explosion snapped Erin out of her flashback. Just as she was in the delivery room, she was filled with uncontrollable anger. Civilians were screaming as they ran past and staggered guns were being used. The horrible stricken screams seemed to amplify the ones she heard in Mountain Pass on that fateful day. As the gunshots continued in a random order, she found herself becoming coated in anger. Why were they shooting? For each shot that was fired, it was one step closer to Erin losing control; she didn't have her tranquility and her memory of the Temple Twins was filled with absolute hatred, she had no idea what she was capable at the moment. She had vowed that no one else would die by her hand and that included sitting idly by and letting this tactical team killing anyone.

There was a moment of cease-fire; and Erin took that chance. Jumping up, and ignoring her own conscious, she balled her fists tight and ran towards the first member. His board back was facing her, giving her the perfect opportunity to attack. With her newly found anger, she disregarded her normal techniques and charged at him. Throwing her entire body into the member, he was caught off guard and stumbled forward. Tossing his rifle aside, he quickly wrapped his arms around her and flung her off of him. She rolled, but landed on her feet.

Now she was in the thick of it; at least six members were pointing their automatics at her. She kept her head down but her eyes sharp; waiting for the right moment.

"On your feet!" one of them demanded.

Erin narrowed her black gaze under her thick hair at him.

"Fine," he muttered, "Die whatever way you like." Raising a hand and give some sort of gesture, one of the members aimed at her. "Kill her," he commanded.

"No! Don't!" a voice sounded behind her.

Smirking at their stupidity, Erin began to manipulate her shadows, taking the risk of losing control again. To shield herself, she raised a third dimensional shade from under her. The bullet that was meant for her head bounced off. She sensed a hesitation from whom she guessed was their leader. Again, she seized the opportunity. At least, she tried to; the man who spoke earlier popped his head out from the side of a car and kicked in the back of a member's knee. He fought quickly with a small knife and disarmed him. Erin saw the remaining members change the direction of their barrels to aim at the new threat. She wasn't going to let him get hurt. No one was going to die.

Slamming heavy hands to the ground, she willed her shadows to spring from under the rest of the tactical team and snatch the rifles right from their hands. Dazed and confused, the man took his chance to incapacitate two of the members. Only four left.

While two men lay groaning on the bridge, the strange man helping Erin was fighting hand to hand with another. Erin jumped upright and faced the remaining members. Two pulled their handguns out and aimed at her; her black eyes daring them to try.

"Don't shoot! He would want her alive!" the third man declared.

"I'm not going without a fight," she hissed. From her previous experience with SHIELD, the last thing she wanted was to get "arrested" by anyone.

"Put your guns down!" he commanded his men again. Finally, they listened.

"Your mistake." With a huge flick of her arm, all three men were dragged to the far side of the bridge. Their bodies flew across the air but immediately slammed into the concrete barrier. The impact made the men lose their firearms and become constricted. For extra incentive, Erin took double precautions and wrapped her shadows around the men. Even though her body was seeping with terrible emotions, she was able to tone down her rage just enough to not crush the men under her shadows; she didn't want to add to her body count. No one was going to die.

With all of the tactical team restrained, she took deep breaths, hoping to find a way to calm herself before things got too serious. She wasn't a monster.

"You okay?"

Erin spun her head around and found the man who helped her. He was holding one of the assault rifles but kept the barrel away from her. The man was staring at her eyes; she knew he was terrified, but he didn't show it.

"You're not hurt, are you?" he asked, taking a step towards her.

_He has a good heart,_ she determined. _He doesn't see me as a threat._ "No," she said, trying her hardest to bring back her anger to regain her green eyes. Taking rapid blinks, Erin bottled her old anger for the Temple Twins back into the pit of her stomach. Bright eyed and soft faced, she gestured to the three men held against the barrier, "Who are these guys?"

"They're with HYDRA," the man explained, drawing her attention to the street below them. Erin did her best to follow his gaze with her own eyes, failing to see what exactly he was looking for. Underneath the overpass, civilians scattered all around the cars and buildings. More gunshots could be heard, but Erin just couldn't find where it was coming from. _HYDRA? That's a name I never wanted to find at the trigger end of a gun._

"What did you do to piss them off?" she asked, trying her best to hide the fact that she knew quite a lot about them. The less this man knows the better.

"Not me," he said, kneeling down and resting the barrel of the rifle on the barrier. He used the scope to continue his search as Erin followed his lead and crouched behind the cement rail. "Over there," he said, looking away from the scope and pointing down the street. "One more, the guy with the metal arm." She squinted her big eyes to focus further along the road. She could see a man with a black tactical suit on and a shining mechanical arm fighting hand to hand with a woman with red hair. It was almost instantaneous that she realized it was Winter; it also explained why HYDRA members were out in the daylight. Did he have a new mission? Possibly; she had been meditating for nearly two days. Apparently a lot could happen in that time frame. "Can you help them?" _Them?_ The man with the rifle glanced at her and seemed to plead to her with his eyes.

She was taken back; did he trust her? Doesn't he know that she's The Monster of Mountain Pass? "How you know I'm on your side?" Honestly, she didn't like this underground war of SHIELD against HYDRA. Her preference was to stay the hell away from both sides; and maybe sneaking Winter away from the fighting as well.

"You just saved my life, I think I can tell a friend from an enemy." He gave her a reassuring wink.

Saved his life? Was that the first person she actually saved with her shadows? Clearly, she hesitated. Was this man living proof that she wasn't a monster? Of course, one life stacked against seven hundred and eighty eight lives meant nothing. But to her, at that moment, it was everything to her. _You've saved a life. If you did it once, you can do it again._ Erin almost couldn't comprehend that to this man, to this _one _man out of the entire country, she was good. To him, she wasn't a monster, or a terrorist; and definitely not a demon.

Since her mind took a minute to register what exactly what this stranger said, she dropped her guard long enough to accidentally lose connection with her shadows. The three men against the barrier were released. Neither Erin or the man noticed this until it was too late; all three of the members scrambled for their handguns. By the time their leader cocked his pistol, the man Erin saved caught sight of the HYDRA agents.

"MOVE!" he shoved Erin away from him and behind one of their armored vehicles. Rather than letting him get shot, she quickly contracted her hands to create another shadow shield. At first he flinched, bracing himself for the barrage of bullets, but once he realized he wasn't shot, he peeked to his surroundings.

Before he could question the odd barrier in front of him, Erin shouted instructions to him, "Get to your friends!" Placing a hand on the ground, she willed a portal to form under the man. A black hole quickly consumed him, lowering him under the overpass and to fall onto the street below. Once she knew he was safely away from the firing squad, she immediately dropped her shadows again.

Breathing heavily, Erin strained her ears to listen to the gunshots and maybe the footsteps of the HYDRA members. This was dangerous; every time she resorted to her shadows, she could physically feel herself losing control. The more she used them, the chances of her burning down another city was increasing. _No more._ She couldn't risk mass murder again. She had just saved one man; killing the entire population of the capital seemed like the wrong way to go. But, how was she suppose to get out of this?

Another cease-fire. Erin held her breath and took the chance to peek around the rear bumper. A warning shot whizzed past her head, causing her to retreat and tease behind the vehicle again. The temptation to use her shadows and escape creeped into her mind; but she couldn't. The urge to call upon her inner darkness and just simply snap these men's necks also played into her thoughts. _No, you are not a monster. _No one was going to die. Not by her hand. If she gave into the temptation, that would be the start of her madness. She silently cursed Winter for ever causing her to question her tranquility. _You're getting slapped again when I see you next_.

During her deliberation, she didn't notice that one of the members snuck around the front end of the vehicle. Although he wore combat boots, his steps were silent and his movements were fast. Just like before, she didn't see him until it was too late. When the member swished out his electric prod and charged it was when Erin snapped her face at him. There wasn't enough time for her to roll out of the way or even put up a decent fight; the HYDRA member slammed the electrical charge end into her ribs. An immediate surge of unknown voltage jolted Erin to tense up and shout out. The prod only connected for a few seconds before the agent pulled it away from her side. Her vision began to spin and no matter what she looked at she couldn't focus.

"Again?" she muttered while trying to glare at the tactical member. She saw three of the tough looking man and all seemed to fade in and out. "You all and your damn tasers."

Her body couldn't withstand it's own weight and crumbled. Erin did her best to avoid hitting her head on the ground when she fell. Once her head was resting on the concrete, the rest of her body became limp and twitched periodically. Erin thought back to two days prior, when Romanoff threw the mini device at her stomach and shocked her into unconsciousness. As her body did it's best to keep the small spazzes under control, Erin forced her eyes to remain open. She would be damned if she let that happen again.

With convulsions in her muscles and an abnormally fast heartbeat, the man who gave her the small electrocution positioned himself to pick her up. Scooping her under her knees and behind her shoulders, he easily stood up and allowed Erin's heavy head rest on his rough shoulder.

"Call Pierce," he instructed one his stumbling agents, "He'll want to know about her."

Without directions, a different agent opened the back seat of the vehicle for their leader to lay her down in. Even though she barely moved, he didn't take the chance to allow her to escape; he handcuffed her hands and ankles together. She wanted to kick this man in the face, punch him in the stomach, do anything to fight back. But her body wasn't responding to her requests to move. All she could do was grunt with a leg cramp or arm spasm. Every joint felt locked and refused to move. The handcuffs around her ankles and wrists were cutting into her delicate skin while her muscles would randomly erupt in pain. Green eyes stared at the two agents who entered the front seat. Under the uncomfortable seat, Erin could feel the engine rumble to life and quickly change gears. The wheels under the vehicle peeled out of the lane and zipped past the abandoned cars on the bridge.

"Get the asset," their leader demanded.

The Shadow Stranger's eyelids were beginning to fall as she slid across the back seat while the driver took sharp turns and sped down the off-ramp. _Don't fall asleep._ She kept trying to couch herself to stay conscious, but it was slowly failing. _You have to know where they are taking you._ The vehicle came to a screeching stop, almost having Erin slid completely off the seat. The door next to her head popped open; she strained her blurry eyes to see who was standing over her. All she could see was that it was a muscular man wearing black.

"Get in," the leader growled at the man.

Without a word, the man quickly lifted up Erin's swimming head and slid under it. He placed her head so it was resting on his side and slammed the door shut. The driver hardly waited for the door to be completely closed before peeling out again. With the man's face a bit closer to her uncertain eyes, Erin concentrated on figuring out who he was. His shoulder length hair covered half of his features, but that didn't discourage her. Narrowing her eyes and blinking feverishly, she eventually realized who it was.

"Winter?" she wanted clarification.

He shifted his left arm a little; it was made of metal and coiled all the way to his fingers. There was no mistaking him now.

"What the hell happened?" As the ride in the mysterious vehicle continued, Erin gradually regained her motor skills to form a complete sentence. Her eyes continued to play tricks on her, making her plan to memorize the landmarks and street names impossible for her.

"Don't answer her," the leader in the passenger seat ordered. Under her head, she felt Winter tense up in frustration. His hands balled into fists but remained by his sides.

"Please Winter," her voice was soft and clearly full of agony, "What happened?" Why was he still with HYDRA? Did he still want to get out? What was going on?

In the passenger seat, Erin heard the familiar sound of the electrical prod click awake again. Her ribs contracted with just the memory of the pain. The leader turned around in his seat and forced the charged end down at her. She flinched and rolled into a ball; awaiting for the second voltage to strike her. It never came. Daring to open her eyes, she saw that Winter had used his left arm to grip around the prod. Before the leader could retract his weapon, The Winter Soldier forced his hand tighter to break it. Pieces crumbled under his pressure and fell to the floor. Seeing the electricity fade away from the weapon gave Erin's weak heart a chance to relax, if only for a moment. Obviously, the leader did not like that Winter intervened; he immediately pulled out his handgun and pointed the barrel at Erin.

"Let's see if you can stop a bullet," he warned.

Although her vision was hazy and blurry at best, she could make out that Winter and the leader held a harsh gaze at each other. She felt the suspenseful stare over her and the battle regarding obedience and leadership. The man flicked his gun away from Erin but held his dirty look at Winter; he wasn't admitting defeat, just continuing to threaten her. Once he turned around to face the windshield, Erin glanced up at Winter, silently questioning him. He only quickly glanced at her then shifted his eyes to the blackened window.

Just under his breath, incredibly quiet that Erin thought she imagined it, he said, "Told you not to follow me."

The Shadow Stranger couldn't refuse the urge to sleep any longer. Something inside of her begged her to shut her eyes and drift away. For some reason, she felt safe with Winter there, even if he was still taking orders from HYDRA. Maybe because he stopped his leader from using the prod on her again? Or was her heart overpowering her mind? It didn't matter; with handcuffed hands and ankles, and a heavy head, she ceased fighting the call of unconsciousness and fell under a deep sleep.

The time elapsed while she was blacked out couldn't have been long. When she was startled awake, her ribs were still freshly burning from the first use of prod and her initial thought was to sleep more. However, covering her body was ice cold water resulting in her entire being shiver and shake uncontrollably. With chattering teeth, Erin tried to move her hands to wipe the dripping water from her eyes; she couldn't move them. Her arms were wrapped around her back and her wrist were clasped tightly together and she couldn't move her hands. Her ankles were bound together as well. Struggling for a moment made her realize she was sitting upright in a chair; she could rock a little.

While looking through her water soaked eyes, she noticed a hazy figure standing in front of her. Artificial lights shone from above giving her the impression of being in a room. Blinking away as much chilling water as possible, she twitched her eyes to focus on whoever was in her line of sight.

"Ah, good. You're awake," he said with a tone of authority and confidence. Erin already didn't like this guy. "I was hoping to speak with you before the fun began."

"Di-did you throw a bucket of ice water on me?" she stuttered under the blanket of cold.

"Me? No," as he spoke he used hand gestures, "Rumlow did." Vaguely following his finger to the man still holding a tin bucket in his hands. "What are the kids doing these days? 'The Ice Bucket Challenge'? Well, I guess I did you a favor." His tone was cynical and condescending.

"Hope you're not expecting a 'thank you,'" she growled, bringing her attention back to the first man. She shook her head quickly to toss droplets of water off her hair and face. It helped clearing her vision.

"This generation," the man seemed to speak to someone else, "They are unappreciative ingrates."

She blinked the rest of the water away to finally get a clear picture. Before her stood a tall man in a lightly colored suit. His thick, graying hair combed neatly over and a thin pair of clear glasses lay on his nose. With a straight posture and large hands, it was obvious that this man had a reputation to uphold. The second man, with the tin bucket, was wearing a black tactical uniform, equipped with handgun and rifle. She squinted to focus at his face; he was the leader who used the electrical prod on her at the overpass. He was observing her carefully; hand resting on his pistol.

"You-" she began to growl.

"Don't pay Rumlow any mind," the suited man interrupted. She followed the voice back to the first man. "You see, I've been waiting a long time to talk to you," he stepped to her and pointed at her. "It's nice to _finally_ meet you, Ms. Memmott."

Erin tensed up at the sound of her name, "How do you-"

"We've had an informant," he used his gestured to the other side of her. Begrudgingly, she turned her head to see who he was referring to. Within the same room, a small battalion of tactical members were surrounding a familiar looking medieval torture machine, only with electricity. The large black rings encircled an even more familiar man; Winter. His muscular arms were being held down with thick, tight metal straps, locking him to the bench under it. Erin saw his chest heaving greatly as he stared intently at her. At first, she was ready to bite his head off for tipping off this strange man; but upon further examination, she saw that he wasn't glaring at her, he was pleading to her. Erin's heart sank as she realized that he was being held against his will, just like she was.

"Jesus," she muttered at the horrific sight of her friend being a prisoner as well.

"Is this making any sense yet?" the suited man asked. She refused to look at him but kept her eyes at Winter, both sharing a desperate look. "Now, I had to get pretty creative in order to recruit you-"

"Recruit?" she snapped. "Do you mean HYDRA?"

He smiled, doing his best to hide his obvious annoyance of her interruption, "Yes. I want you to join our-"

"Go to hell," she glared.

Before she could elaborate her rebuttal, the suited man immediately used a stern hand to slap her across the face. Her skin was more sensitive because of the chilling water shocking her awake. Across the room, she heard Winter grunt and attempt to break free. The suited man ignored him and leaned in close to Erin.

"Don't cut me off again, or I'll be forced to hurt you more." He leaned away and straightened his jacket. She chewed at her bottom lip before regaining the courage to stare him down; she heed his warning and only waited for appropriate times to answer.

"Now, do you know who I am?" he asked.

She hesitated, making sure he was completely done talking. "No."

"Oh, well that's news to me," he said behind a cocky grin, "Alexander Pierce, newly appointed director of SHIELD, but more importantly, chief commander of HYDRA."

Erin wasn't sure if she was supposed to answer him, so she didn't. That name again, Pierce. She had definitely heard it before. The most recent was from the news report right after Winter left her safe house; informing her that Nick Fury was dead. But, she had a nagging suspicion that she could recall it before then. It took a minute, but she thought back to all previous discussions with Winter before this point. He had mentioned a Mr. Pierce back in Dallas. She guessed that this was the same man.

"I am giving you a chance to join the winning team here," he continued when she didn't say anything. "The Asset," he gestured to Winter, "Has been all too kind in informing us about you. And that book of your's. Very intriguing. Very captivating, and down right amazing. Can you really walk around in someone's mind?"

"I don't know," she studying both Pierce and Winter; the suited man's face seemed honest and held no lies, the way he presented himself was too equitable. Winter, on the other hand, was frenetic and glaring daggers at Pierce. His once blank and strong face was now littered with anger and desperation.

"If you haven't already figured it out," Pierce continued while walking over to Winter, "Our perfect soldier here has strayed too far along my path." He put a fake comforting hand on his shoulder, making Winter tense up and flinch at him, trying to punch his stomach. "Starting to disobey orders. I can't have my ultimate weapon getting a conscious, now can I?"

"Why do you even want me?" she asked, taking the risk of the reprimands.

"You did some impressive work at Mountain Pass, it was truly inspiring," Erin dug her nails into her palms, he wasn't allowed to speak of her hometown. "I feel, that with the proper motivation, I can help you. In controlling her shadows and making you stronger."

"I don't want _your_ help," she muttered.

"Oh, but you will. You see, I'm not exactly giving you a choice," he gestured for two man to examine the machine's rings over Winter. Erin didn't know what this was used for, but by the way he was frantically trying to break out, she knew it wasn't anything pleasant. "You can either willingly swear your devotion to me and dedicate the rest of your life being controlled by HYDRA, or I can-"

"Hell no."

She forgot his rule about interrupting. He rolled his eyes and sighed. She expected another hard slap across her cheek; however, he grabbed a handgun from one of the neighboring agents and quickly fired off a shot. It immediately hit her thigh. Erin screamed out in torture and bowed her head over as far as it could go. Winter fidgeted more, trying to stop Pierce from hurting her more. Pierce only needed one shot to get his point across.

"I warned you, dear," he shrugged his shoulders at the whimpering girl. "You really don't have any option but to be recruited."

That was it. She couldn't take it anymore. Her self control, her heart, and any more of tranquility she had clung onto disappeared. From the pit of her stomach, her inner darkness erupted to her eyes. She snapped her black gaze to the suited man. The agents aimed their rifles at her, allowing a short barrier around Pierce. She knew what the ending result would be; nothing but death and destruction. This entire fight of SHIELD against HYDRA wasn't her battle; all she wanted to do was save Winter from it. He had asked for it; but that turned out that it was a lie. He had played her, secretly gaining information about her. She had trusted him. At that moment, he was just The Winter Soldier, HYDRA's pawn, just another body to add to her total count from Mountain Pass. Just another HYDRA agent standing in her way.

Effectively scaring her captors, Erin easily willed the shadows all around her to break off all of her restraints. Ignoring her sore muscles and stiff joints, she jumped up, causing a trail of blood to roll down her thigh. Grimmed face and determined to make this room burn, she twisted her hands. The agents began to squeeze their triggers, in order to stop her. The bullets were suppose to hit her, but her wrath and use of the shadows caused an invisible shield to have them bounce off. Her wrath would protect her; just like it did in Mountain Pass.

She felt the familiar flame emit from her small hands; black fire engulfed her battered fingers and cut wrists. Small traces of red smoke began to circle her palms and lift into the air. If she just held this, the smoke alone would kill them. Destruction wasn't necessary, but their deaths was essential. While she was concentrating on her flaming hands, she didn't see that Winter was screaming in pain. His wails drew her attention away from the blaze and back to him. The metal rings were moving, circling around his head. Small electrical shocks were visible every time they pierced his head. Using his strong hands, he kept his grip on the armrests clinched tight, to exert some pain.

The HYDRA members stopped shooting at her and allowed the suited man to speak clearly, "You've forced my hand, my dear. As we speak, his precious little mind is being wiped clean from any memory he could have had of you. He's going back to simply following orders."

Winter's pain inflicted howls brought her back from the darkness. She got a small flashback when they were still at the doughnut store basement; he had something important to tell her. Before he left, he told her to not follow her. Was he warning her? Was he protecting her from Pierce? Seeing him in such agony caused Erin to drop her shoulders, but not her anger. Rather than having her emotions spill over into physical manifestation of fire, she had her rage shimmer in her.

Black eyes and smoking red hands, she moved past the HYDRA agents and stood next to Winter. The remaining agents kept their barrels at her, but she was focused on him. That's why he never knew his name; Pierce would wipe his memory. This explained so much. One of the HYDRA agents said something to her, but she wasn't listen. She was too consumed in her thoughts to understand anything. With locked eyes with the tortured Winter, she never noticed that his eyes were blue; it was always dark when they met up. Erin ignored all safety precautions and simply laid a hand on his metal arm. The hot metal from the electrical shocks immediately burned her hand; when she retracted it back, a red hand print mixed with blood and her smoke was left. The pain of scolding her palm caused Erin to realize that she was willing to kill these people. She had turned back into The Monster of Mountain Pass.

"What do you say, my dear?" Alexander Pierce cleared his throat and spoke loudly to her while Winter continued to scream. "Are you being recruited?"

She glanced at him, still black coated her once green eyes. "I'm getting my friend back."

While she still had enough control over her shadows, she quickly stepped away and jumped into the wall. Behind her, the agents were firing at her again, as Pierce cursed at her. Faster than she thought possible, she made a long distance portal and hopped through it. Within one leap, she went from Winter's cryostasis chamber to her basement. Once her feet touched the ground, the portal closed. Her inner darkness subsided back inside, her smoke drifted and faded away. She had found her tranquility; she had saved that man on the bridge, so she could save another. No matter what Winter was going to tell her two nights ago, she knew that he wanted to protect her from HYDRA. That's why he stopped Rumlow from striking her with the prod. She would bring him back; she just couldn't do it without her book.

* * *

**Woah, that was a long chapter! Sorry if it's a little weird or you guys notice any mistakes. I'm trying to get into the habit of putting up a new chapter every Sunday/ Monday (my days off) and since this one is so big, I just wanted to rush it out and put it up. If there's anything too confusing or you just want to ask a question, please feel free to review (nicely!) or message me. **

**Hope you enjoyed it!**


	9. Chapter 9

After escaping from Winter's cryostasis chamber, and narrowly averting Pierce's offer for her to join HYDRA, Erin had to cool down and simply breath for a minute. The drifting red smoke emitting from her charred hands was slowly dying from the fire that had burned inside of her. One important aspect that Qlifhat's tome had stressed from the very first page was that there is no darkness without light, and vice versa. In order to correctly manipulate shadows, the master would need to keep a light inside themselves, their tranquility, to keep them from being consumed in the shadows. Connecting to the shades always has risks; the stronger the manipulators tranquility, the more they could control it. Having a loved one as tranquility is dangerous because if they die, the master descents into madness. Erin knew of these possibilities before performing her first technique. She couldn't risk losing sight of her inner peace; she didn't want to hurt anyone simply because she couldn't keep the darkness out of her heart.

With shut eyes, she positioned herself carefully on the chilly concrete and eased herself into her meditation. Her little lamp across the room was the only visible light in the basement. This time, not wanting to skip another two days, Erin kept pinching her fingers in order to leave one feet in the doughnut shop and the other in her relaxing state. Winter didn't have two days for her to rescue him; and seeing her only friend in such agony made her impatient. She wanted and needed to help him. She couldn't waste any time.

As her heart slowed down, her tranquility being physically displayed on her hands reseeded back into her. The deadly red smoke filtered through the broken latch and into the freezer. Her small base of operations soon became habitable again. All that was left of her small loss of control was black smut on her fingers and sut spots on her palms. It wasn't long before she pinched herself back into her basement.

"Okay," she sighed loudly. Opening her green eyes, it took a moment for them to adjust to the surroundings. She shifted to stand, but a stinging pain shoot from her thigh. Erin traced her hand along the inflicted area and pulled back bloody finger tips. "Damn," she muttered. "He shot me," she had forgotten that Pierce had lost his temper with her. While the pain was splitting through her body, Erin began to grind her teeth and struggled to find her small box of first aid. "I swear," she spoke as if someone would hear her, "The next son of a bitch that shoots me is going to get _gelded_." This was the third time a bullet had hit her. When Rumlow had struck her with the cattle prod, that was the second time she was electrocuted. And who could forget that Agent Romanoff stabbed her in the knee on their first encounter? So many scars to remind her of all her trials with SHIELD and HYDRA. Hopefully, she wouldn't get any more.

"_Gelded?"_ a female voice asked behind her. Erin immediately ceased fumbling around her basement and stood still. She didn't know anyone was there. "That's a bit outdated, isn't it?"

The Shadow Stranger took rapid breaths through her nostrils, which were flared with annoyance. _I don't have time for this._ Who ever just stumbled upon her hideout was about to regret it. Glancing over her shoulder, Erin glared at the woman in a black uniform. Her hair was hastily put together in a bun, leaving a few strands loose and fall around her head. A thick utility belt hung her hips and components were left open for a variety of weapons. Erin knew this outfit; Rumlow and his damn team wore those on the bridge. _That's right, Winter was HYDRA's little spy. They know where I am._

"I suggest you leave, before I-"

"From the way you've been fumbling about, I don't have much to worry about."

"Do you know who I am?" Erin used the old desk in the back of the basement to lean on and cross her arms.

"Someone's who's been shot, obviously." The woman nodded her head at her bleeding wound. "And, I also know you're the person who swore to help the man who gave this to you." She tossed the smartphone that Fury had given to her two days ago. Erin caught it and immediately dismissed it by slamming it on the wood.

"What of it?" As hard as she tried, Erin's focus kept being dragged away to her throbbing thigh. She had to get rid of this woman, not kill her. Because of her steady blood loss, she didn't want to resort to her shadows; not yet. If it came to it, she wouldn't hesitate. But for now, this woman had peaked Erin's interest. She was wearing a HYDRA outfit, but spoke about Fury's secret agreement with her; she needed to know how she knew.

"What's the point of giving you a phone if you don't answer it?" the tactical woman replied.

Taking a short moment to check the phone, Erin didn't know she missed fourteen calls. All from the only number programmed into the phone; Nick Fury. It didn't make sense, he had died two days ago, and every call was after the time the hospital had declared him dead. Someone could have used his phone; however, Erin suspected that there were security measures he took to ensure his privacy.

"Nick Fury is dead; I'm not answering a dead man's cell," she lied; she had almost instantly lost it when she returned with her book. There was no why she could answer any call if she didn't know where it was. "I hear bad things happen when you speak to ghosts."

"Bad things are going to happen anyway."

Erin shifted her weight, which only resulted in her leg stinging with more pain; Erin winced, but continued the conversation, "Well, that's inevitable."

"This one can be stopped," she took a step, Erin choose not to move, but to glare her down, "Millions of people are going to be wiped out. At a push of a button."

"Who has that kind of power?" she voiced her disbelief.

One word was all it took for Erin to take a leap of faith. Just one word had her convinced. That one word had Erin's blood boiling and her nerves itching to join the fight. The woman had said, "HYDRA."

Despite her desperate attempts to remain out of the war between SHIELD and HYDRA, Erin found herself being wrapped up by the woman and helped into a slick black compact car. After seeing what they were doing to Winter, Erin just could not refuse to help take down HYDRA. And, a little vengeance for being the pincushion for Rumlow's advanced cattle prod. With her thigh still aching with a familiar pain, Erin held a tight grip around her bandage wrap to hold her red blood inside her body. The woman had introduced herself as Agent Hill, from SHIELD. Erin didn't care; anyway to take down HYDRA and get Winter free from them was all she did care about. A tiny voice was telling her to not use people, but she couldn't calm the large amount of anger in her. Winter, like it or not, was getting rescued. She just wondered how the next interaction with him would be. To be honest, she enjoyed the last time the most, when they were close. Of course, she knew it would be different. His memory was being erased when she left. Even though he was HYDRA's spy, she saw that glint in his blue eyes that he was sorry. Erin just needed to play her cards right to at least break him away from Pierce and Rumlow. After that, he would be on his own to do whatever he wanted; it wasn't what Erin wanted, but there was no way she could force him to remember her, even with her shadows. She had tried and failed.

Her mind was concentrated on Winter. She didn't pay attention to the streets Hill was turning down, the statues they past, or even the direction they were going. For all Erin knew, Hill could have been with HYDRA all along and she wouldn't have caught on until it was too late. The Shadow Stranger had took that risk by just thinking of Winter. Thankfully, Hill had not lied to her about being with SHIELD. However, from Erin's previous experiences with them, it wasn't too much better.

Agent Hill turned off the main streets and drove down into a drainage ditch. A large black SUV was parked in the corner, under the protection of a large building while a small service entrance led underneath. The edges of Erin's vision started to become blurry as Hill jerked the compact car to a halt and parked it. Shutting the engine off, she jumped out and nearly pulled Erin out; having an arm over her shoulder, the SHIELD agent particularly hauled her down the damp tunnel. She was conscious and could recall being led through the narrow service entrance, but it wasn't until a new voice spoke clearly at them for her to recognize what was happening.

Lying face down on a small army cot, Erin rolled her eyes back into clarity. The chilly air of the damp service leaks caused her to shiver and pick herself up and examine her newest setting. Before she could realize where she was, the voice spoke again, obviously angry.

"There's _no way_ I'm working with _her._" The voice was vaguely familiar and definitely female.

"What choice do we have?" a male voice answered.

"I don't see what the big deal is; she helped me back at the bridge," a third voice.

"You don't know this girl like I do. She's dangerous and-"

"Awake." Erin held her head up to focus on the three people talking about her. After a few quick blinks, she saw the hazy figures recover their details and faces. _Oh damnit. _As if she expected anything else, the angry female voice was Agent Romanoff; she could easily tell her apart from the rest with her bright red hair. The other two were men, both impressively muscular and tall, one with broad shoulders and a strong chin, the other with more slender physique but with definition nonetheless. Although she wasn't kept up to date with the Avengers and their true identities, it was clear that one of the men was Steve Rogers. The other man was ringing a faint bell in the back of her mind, but she found it difficult to pinpoint who he was. "Nice to see you again, Romanoff," Erin sarcastically said while nodding to the SHIELD agent.

"How's your knee?" she crossed her tough arms over her chest and glared at her.

"Still works, thankfully," Erin shifted to carefully have her legs dangle off the side of the cot. Her thigh was wrapped and a tight spot could be felt underneath; they had stitched her up. "That knife of yours left a gnarly scar," she took a mental note of the disturbed expressions on Steve and the other man's face, "Definitely tells a story."

"You stabbed her in the _knee?_" Steve took a defensive step in between the women. "When was this?"

"Oh, it happened over a year ago," she answered causally. "That's besides the point. I don't care how strong HYDRA is, we don't need her. She shouldn't even be here."

"That's enough, Agent Romanoff," all four heads turned to see who had spoken. The three people standing weren't too surprised to see a dead man walking, but Erin's jaw dropped almost immediately. Rather than a proud, intimidating man marching along, with his hands cupped behind his back, Nick Fury limped his way slightly hunched over and one arm in a sling. It wasn't long before she remembered seeing Winter's mission two days prior, watching the grenade fly across the street and explode under the front axle of his SUV. He somehow escaped, but the news report said that he had died. How did he survive The Winter Soldier?

This was a ridiculous plan; completely suicidal. The former SHIELD director, three agents, one veteran, and one shadow manipulator were going to bring down HYDRA. During their meeting to deliberate how they were going to expose HYDRA, Erin held her tongue and simply nodded when someone mentioned her. Romanoff was constantly questioning why she was even there while Rogers shot her dirty looks. The man that she had saved on the bridge was named Sam Wilson, and apparently he had wings. Six people were going to infiltrate SHIELD headquarters, get into the main council room on one of the highest floors, and disable the three helicarriers by switching out a small processor in the belly of each one. Simple, right? Parts were assigned to each person based on what they could do; Rogers and Wilson would be in charge of the processors on each helicarrier. Romanoff and Erin were unluckily paired up to disguise the red hair as Councilwoman Hawley and sneak in that way. Hill was left to quickly reprogram the targeting system on the helicarriers so they would aim at each other, instead of civilians. Of course, Romanoff loathed the idea of working directly with Erin, but Fury had explained that Erin was the only way to sneak her onto the airplane that Hawley was on without detection. The Shadow Stranger bit her bottom lip as Fury seemed to have high expectations of her abilities. She had never had to create a portal on a moving object before, especially one she couldn't see; needless to say, Erin had her own doubts on this plan. They were also going to reveal all of SHIELD secrets as well, all black ops missions, terrorist group, even her small town in Wyoming. At that point, Erin didn't care if people knew who she really was; as long as she could break away from Fury's mission and go off on her own. Once everyone had a decent understanding of how things were going to play out, Wilson and Rogers took a minute to chat. Erin's careful ears heard them talking about someone vaguely familiar.

"I don't think he's the type of saving, but rather a guy to be stopped."

Wilson said that to Rogers, but Erin ignored his claim. _He can be saved, even if it's the last thing I do._ If Rogers really knew Winter, than it would be better if she just faded after all this. When Romanoff and Fury leak all of SHIELD and HYDRA's secrets on the internet, everyone would look to her as a monster, just as they had before. The fact that everyone would only half of the story would kill her; better to just disappear than to live with the label Monster of Mountain Pass.

Once Romanoff was disguised as the British councilwoman, Hill helped Erin distinguish which inbound flight had the original woman. It took her a few attempts to successfully connect to the shadows miles above them. Holding the connection was difficult, she always relied on something in place, a wall, a foundation, support beam, but the entire plane was traveling incredibly fast. Once she was able to hold it open long enough for Romanoff to jump through and sneak Hawley through, Erin figured her part was over. However, Fury left out the part that he needed her to get him into the council room. No shadows; this time, they would take a helicopter. According to him, she was their escape plan, if anything went bad, he wanted her to get Romanoff and Hill out. She agreed, only for a chance to be in the same room as Pierce; she had her own agenda to attend to.

Erin had never been in a helicopter before; she never even traveled by plane. Of course, she never systematically planned to take down two giant organizations with only six people, but this wasn't the first time she wanted to break into SHIELD headquarters. Hopefully, she wouldn't get ambushed. Everyone had earpieces to communicate the status of their progress. Hill was able to make her way to the helicarrier tower in the building and start the reprogramming of the targets. After a heartfelt speech from Captain America, the three massive fortresses began to rise. The river had divided to reveal the docking bays and the colossal helicarriers. While in the helicopter, Erin was able to just see Rogers jump onto one of them while Wilson took flight to a different one. The Shadow Stranger shifted and leaned back in the uncomfortable seat. Would Pierce actually use Winter? Where would he use his asset? This wasn't going to be easy.

A confirmation came from Rogers and Wilson that they had achieved switching the processors. Only one left. She couldn't concentrate on the two's bantter and coordination to get to the third. Fury's concerning looks didn't go unnoticed by Erin; she just wanted to find Winter.

"Are you here, Memmott?" the former director of SHIELD spoke into the headset.

She turned to him and shrugged her shoulders. Physically, yes. However, her mind was long gone.

"I need you sharp!" He demanded as their flying vessel rounded the skyscraper building. "If anything goes haywire, you need to get Romanoff and Hill out of there. Do you understand?"

The Shadow Stranger couldn't help but smile at the authoritative man steering the helicopter. "When we first met, did you ever think we'd be flying into your precious SHIELD to destroy it?" She chuckled, being reminded of the outlandish trials she had been through, half caused by this man. "I never would have guessed that," _What a satire sort of humor. _

After circling the entire building to find the landing pad on the correct floor, which was adjacent to Pierce's council room. Fury gave Erin a stern look before exiting the craft. "Your priority is to get them out if anything happens to me, understood?"

"Sir yes sir," she answered honestly, but in a mocking tone. As soon as she knew where Winter was, she wasn't going to hesitate to get to him. The best case scenario was that she could get everyone out alive; but, when did anything work in her favor?

The two jumped out of the helicopter while the propellers continued to spin. Fury led the way to the glass office and pulled the door open to storm inside. It pleased Erin that Pierce was being held at gun point. One of the regular council members was holding the barrel at his big head. Romanoff had taken her mesh mask and wig to reveal her natural features. She was typing quickly at a clear panel. Thin glasses of wine sat on the table; Pierce had celebrated too early. A sly smile cracked over Erin's face, their plan was actually working. Now, she had to get her own information about Winter without tipping off Fury or Romanoff.

Pierce was shocked when Fury entered the office, but then scoffed when he saw Erin. However, he turned back to the former director of SHIELD. "Did you get my flowers? I'm glad you're here, Nick."

"Really? I thought you wanted me dead." Fury walked up to Pierce and stood tall and powerful.

"You know how the game works."

"Why did you put me in charge of SHIELD?"

"Because you were the best. Were the most ruthless."

"I did everything to protect people."

"Our enemies are yours, Nick." Erin allowed their little chat to continue, waiting for them to leak every bit of information onto the internet. Once the world knew half of Mountain Pass' story, she had nothing left to lose. "Chaos, wars. Soon, radiological weapons will destroy Moscow and an electromagnetic pulse bomb will drop in Chicago. Diplomacy? It's a delay, a palliative. You know where I learned that? At Bogota; do not ask, but just followed. We can bring order into the lives of seven billion people by sacrificing 20 million. It's the next step, Nick, if you have the courage to do it."

"No, I don't have the courage to do it."

Over the office intercom, an automated voice said, "Retinal scan enabled."

"What are you doing?" Pierce acted coy, but Erin could smell his fear. "I don't think you'll be approved!"

"I know that you've deleted the password, probably my retinal scan, but if you want to be one step before me, Mr. Secretary," Fury lifted his black eyepatch and narrowed his dark eyes at the suited man, "You have to keep both eyes well open." Romanoff forced Pierce to the retinal scan on the glass wall. It scanned his eye and Fury's scarred eye. After a moment of processing both retinas, the automated voiced sounded again.

"Alpha level confirmed. Coding accepted. Protection removed."

Erin relaxed by inhaling a deep breath; there was no hiding now. Everyone with internet access would know Mountain Pass and for all the wrong reasons. Although, Erin had wondered what else was hidden by SHIELD or HYDRA. She would have to check the files on the interwebs when she got the chance. There was an awkward tension after they leaked everything. Pierce had glanced at Erin, with a smug look. She didn't like the way he was staring at her, but she was told to stay back, just as an insurance policy for Romanoff and Hill.

"Now, aren't you a surprise?" Behind his thin glasses, he was plotting something sinister; Erin didn't have to be a mind reader to see the evil look in his eyes. "Agent Romanoff showing up was a given. Fury's guest appearance was exciting, but you," pointing a lazy finger at her, "I'm completely dumbfounded by seeing you."

Fury and Romanoff followed his finger to Erin; she kept her lips pressed together, waiting to hear what he was going to say.

"Seeing you on the other side," Pierce gave a shrug to convey his lack of words, "It's astonishing."

"What're you talking about?" The red haired woman shoved him a little to intimidate him.

Pierce was more than willing to clarify. "Oh what? You didn't know?" Neither of the two SHIELD agents answered him, so he continued, "Since it's going to be online in a few minutes anyways," he carefully turned to the glass wall that served as a monitor. "Play video file 221 Bravo, three days ago."

The glass played the role of a large television as a camera video began to show. Erin recognized the room, it was Winter's cryostasis chamber. In the recording, Winter was still in his cryogenically frozen tube. After a short pause of watching the still room, Erin had appeared from a corner. Her own eyes widen as she realized that this was an endocturated recording; however, she knew where this was going. Honestly, the work to create such a masterpiece of incriminating evidence was remarkable. In the video, the back of Erin's head glanced around before placing a hand on the tube. The nearby shadows were brought to the cylinder for a moment before cooling sealant began to steam away from the door. Just as she had guessed, they showed Erin releasing The Winter Soldier. That part was true; when she first stumbled upon his chamber, she did manage to free him from the cryostasis. However, the video was lying; it wasn't three days ago, but over a year prior. She had substantial injuries, including Romanoff's knife in her knee, and her long curly hair. In this lie, she had walked straight to him and quickly unlocked him. _Well played._ Erin had to give Pierce credit for how well made the "recording" was; it was nearly flawless. The only way she could disprove it by admitting to freeing The Winter Soldier at an earlier date; which wouldn't help her anyways. _It seems you've had all your bases covered for the launch._

"What the hell?!" Romanoff snapped her head at Erin, glaring daggers at The Shadow Stranger. "I knew we couldn't trust her!"

"Of course not," Pierce agreed with the furious woman, "She's been with HYDRA for years. In fact, she's the asset's caretaker. Without her, we would never have gotten this far."

_Lies._ Erin felt pinned into the corner, with Fury narrowing his one good eye at her. The only thing holding Romanoff back from attacking Erin was keeping Pierce within arms reach. _I guess you didn't want to go down by yourself._ The Shadow Stranger scoffed at the people staring intently at her. It was a lose-lose situation. Now, the entire world would see her as a HYDRA terrorist; apparently, she did have more to lose.

In her ear communicator, her mind picked up Wilson and Rogers talking about a "him." Wilson had been grounded by "him," and told Captain America to be careful and to remember what he had said. Hill informed Rogers that he had six minutes before the helicarriers had reached the right altitude to sync with the satellite. _He's on one of the flying behemoths._ She looked from the corner of her eyes to just see the slowly rising aircrafts. Erin had been successful in switching Black Widow with Councilwoman Hawley, she at least needed to try to get up there.

"Don't. You. Move." Fury held up a handgun in his one good arm; Erin knew his perception was altered from his left eye being blind and that his dominant was his right. She had the tiniest chance of being able to jump through a portal and get to Winter. "Whatever you're planning, stop." It was an order, but Erin was never an agent. Never a soldier. She didn't have to follow his rules any longer; she had what she needed.

Crouching to initially dodge Fury's first few bullets, The Shadow Stranger ran toward the only solid wall across the room. The councilmen backed away, unsure of what she was doing. Romanoff began to squeeze her trigger as well, trying to stop Erin. There was no way those two SHIELD agents could stop her. Nothing could stop her. Coating her eyes in her own darkness, she held out an arm and focused on one of the helicarriers, attempting to visualize a shadow she could jump into. The shadows around the room quickly swirled together and opened a narrow hole. Erin was forced to jump through to get onto the deck of a helicarrier. She rolled onto the thick haul of the helicarrier and immediately broke the connection to her shadows. Two bullets were fired through her portal, but luckily Erin had the sense to remain out of their path. Surprisingly, she had made it out without any injuries. That was a nice change of pace; her thin body carried enough scars.

Harsh wind whipped across her face and blew her hair back. Shielding her green eyes from any possible debris, Erin used a Stage Two technique to open another portal under her. Her body eased downward until she reached the glass dome on the belly of the helicarrier. She dropped onto the platform where the control panel was. Fingerprint smudges were on the keyboard and, with further examination, she noticed one of the processors in the center coil was not like the others. _This one was already done_. She realized that Winter wouldn't be on this one. Wilson or Rogers had switched this targeting system; there was no need to send the asset to defend it. If just one of the targeting systems was with the original, their plan would fail.

She entertained the thought of switching the processors back, since Rogers was on a different helicarrier and Wilson was grounded, no one could change it. But, that wasn't her. Erin wasn't a monster, despite what all social media was being led to believe at that very moment. Secrets of her and that incriminating video labeled her a terrorist; when in reality, she was just a simple mountain town girl. A small town girl with a large book.

With a defined look at a security camera, silently sending Hill a message, The Shadow Stranger opened another portal and emerged to another helicarrier. This time, she walked onto the glass dome rather than the windy deck. She didn't want to take the chance to being blown away by the strong gusts. Once her foot touched down and her portal closed behind her, loud gunshots were heard.

Erin dropped to her knees and covered her head. "Shit!" she shouted, unaware of the source of bullets. After every loud bang of the gun, she could hear a _ting_ of where the small metal had hit. However, with one bullet being fired, Erin didn't hear the ricochet of metal on metal. Instead, a man groaned in pain and muffled sound was heard of muttering. A cease-fire led Erin to peek over the edge of the platform.

Below her, standing on the glass frame of the belly, The Winter Soldier held a handgun in his mechanical arm. She wasn't a doctor, but she knew that something happened to dislocate his human arm; it was hanging limply and he would slightly wince whenever it moved.

She must had caught his attention because his head turned to her; and for a brief moment, she was relieved. Thrusting his artificial arm upward again, he pointed the barrel at Erin and began to shoot her. She rolled out of the way and shrieked; The Shadow Stranger really didn't want to add another bullet wound to match the one Pierce had given her hours before. Erin crawled around the base of the controls to separate her and his line of fire. _So much for not hurting me._ She was bitter, and quite literally scared. Rogers had been shot and she suspected he was down for the count. What was she supposed to do? Prove Pierce a liar by sacrificing herself to change the processors? She couldn't necessarily do that; she needed to get Winter out of HYDRA before dying. Could she fight him off? Hell no; she had determined months ago that he would win against her in a battle; besides, she had physically felt the extent of his left arm. It was much more powerful than she had ever imagined. Her tranquility was to save him, not fight him. She doubted her more powerful techniques would actually work against him because of that fact; and she didn't want to risk her life just to find out.

The Shadow Stranger had been ignoring the short chat between Hill and Rogers; but she was brought back to the present when the helicarriers began to rev it's weapons. Upward, through the glass, she saw the large guns on the side of the aircrafts spin and aim. Had Rogers failed? Were 20 million people going to die? How could she prevent another massacre? The side guns moved to a leveled altitude; aiming at the other two carriers. In an instant, the three fortresses open fired on each other; Hill was able to change the targets.

A quick sigh of relief left her lips just as the opposite guns from the other two helicarriers started to shoot the one she, Rogers, and Winter were on. For a steady five minutes, the massive flying weapons unloaded each other until they all began to descend. Within the pit of her stomach, she felt the Zero G's taking into effect as the helicarrier heading downward. She forced herself into another roll as pieces of the ceiling were shot down. There was a strong missile connection, popped her body off of the platform and landed on the glass frame. The pain was familiar when she landed on her shoulder. The drop was shorter, but her joint had never really healed from the fall in the elevator shaft.

Grunting and biting her lip down, The Shadow Stranger fought the urge to cry out; if Winter was still looking to shoot her, she wouldn't give away her position. A support beam fell from the ceiling along with sheet metal and panels. Wide eyed, she pushed her sore body away from the general area of the beam. Taking quick breaths to control her throbbing shoulder, she picked herself up and leaned against the center console spire. Annoyed, she took the earpiece out and tossed it away; she no longer was on SHIELD's side. The internet was led to believe that she was with HYDRA for years. All she was an adopted girl in a mountain town. Why did everything have to get twisted and altered into lies? No one would ever trust Erin Memmott again.

About ten yards away, Erin's ears picked up a rough grunting and moaning. She followed the sound and saw Winter pinned under the support beam. He was trying to push it off, occasionally kicking his legs in frustration. "Hell," she muttered. There was no way she could leave him there; he was her reason for being there. Carefully stumbling across the glass frame, Erin placed a hand on the beam, about to open a portal to have him slid through. Rogers jumped down and immediately began to lift it up. Rather than her easy solution, Erin manipulated her shadows around Winter and forced them upward; helping the two lift the abundant beam. With the combined strength, they were able to pick it up enough for Winter to slid out.

Erin grasped in exhaustion and fell to the floor. She was confused as to where her energy went. Using her good arm, she traced her thigh wound from Pierce; it was bleeding heavily. Glancing down, red blood was staining the wraps and what remained of her pants. Linked together with her freshly dislocated shoulder, Erin knew this wasn't going to end well. "Don't you dare pass out," she told herself. "Damnit, not again. You have to get Winter."

Hard punches and loud grunts had Erin turning her head. Winter was sitting on top of Rogers and pounding his face in. With every unsteady strike, Erin cringed at the sound of the was another fall of thick support beam, barreling down fast and broke through the glass. Erin was safe from the gaping hole in the frame, but she had saw Rogers and Winter fall down with the support.

"No!" she shouted. Ignoring her body's request to rest, she jumped up and ran to the edge of the frame. Particularly leaping off the glass, Erin stopped herself short to see Winter holding on to a protruding steel base.

The Winter Soldier glanced up at her; they were definitely not the same blue eyes she saw back at his cryostasis chamber, but they were close. She knew very well that he would try to kill her, but she knew, deep down, he wouldn't. Well, she strongly hoped that he wouldn't.

Leaning on her stomach, she used her right arm to reach to him. He looked wild, savage and ready to rip her throat out, threatening her without words. Erin didn't care. She placed her hand on his mechanical arm and tried to heave him up. Before she could actually attempt to bring him up, his metal arm seemed to scold her. The intense and sudden pain had Erin draw back her hand. Her hand had lost several layers of skin and left a bloody handprint on his arm. Winter had winced in pain, if only for a second. Erin couldn't use her left arm; it was dislocated. And now her right hand was branded to the point of no fingerprints.

Something else had fallen by the time she decided to use her shadows. This time, she wasn't safe. Immediately, her thin, broken and bruised body fell from the helicarrier and towards the river below. She didn't know where Winter had went but she assumed that he was falling as well. Even as fast wind brushed past her and the Zero G's kicked in again, all she could think of was The Winter Soldier. All she wanted was for him to live. He could even kill her if it would help him. As long as he walked away from HYDRA, she would gladly die to ensure his freedom. Closing her green eyes, she had no way to break her fall into the river under her. Her shadows couldn't help her at that height; besides, she figured that she was going to at least die a hero.

All she did while waiting for the smack of water was think of Winter.

* * *

**Woah, another long chapter. So, it was brought to my attention that if Rumlow had kidnapped Erin, when did he have time to get Captain America? Good question (considering I forgot that bit XD), so, I'm just going to say that Rumlow got Rogers after she past out (lazy, yes I know). **

**Sorry for the spelling mistakes, grammar errors, and whatever else you can find; only had a few hours before having to go to work to do this! **

**Well, I hope you like this, even though I didn't have time to proofread this chapter. Thanks for the continued support!**


	10. Chapter 10

Unfastening her eyelids, she expected to be completely submerged in the bone chilling water of the Potomac River. She had pictured a variety of oxygen bubbles to rise over her head as her mangled body sank deeper under the surface. Broken and utterly immobile carcass declining away from the sunlight gave her a sense of peace. Rather than being driven to insanity by the darkness that lied in her heart, The Shadow Stranger was helpless to be consumed by the blackness under the waves. It seemed to sooth her to know that she would be given to shadows, but in a more honorable way. She wouldn't be able to lose her tranquility any more, she could never lose control of her inner dark, and add more bodies to her count of seven hundred and eighty eight. One mountain town was enough for her short span of bloodlust; that was obviously one of her many regrets. No one would ever know how it really happened on January third. Without a counterclaim, the internet would simply accept SHIELD's records of Mountain Pass to be true. She found it ridiculous; how could anyone ever believe them, when they didn't even get the correct causality number? Another regret was stealing the life of the Temple Twins. They never stood a chance. Not against her enraged flames. Hardly any of the buildings had managed to survive. Newborn babies would never endure such a gruesome blaze. They were the first babies born in the town in three years. She was jealous to the point of calling upon her inner demons for the first time; she wasn't ready to control it and thus, seven hundred and eighty eight people paid the price for her childish tantrum.

Another regret was not being able to defend herself to HYDRA's claim of her involvement with Fury's "death". This one was recent; even while she watched the fraud video clip of her releasing Winter, she couldn't say anything. Nick Fury and Romanoff had immediately concluded it to be true and saw her as a threat. The entire world was going to accept the "fact" that she was a HYDRA member for years; leaving a bad taste in the mouths regarding Erin Memmott. Oh, another regret; revealing to anyone her name. Those two words would go down forever written in history as a terrorist, a monster, maybe even a demon. It was no joke the art of shadow manipulation, but it did not gain the approval of the masses. Mr. and Mrs. Temple had labeled her a demon just one time; however, it caused her such mental agony. The whole town knew she wasn't religious in any aspect, but that didn't give them the authority to accuse her of being a servant of the devil just because her eyes were black. No one knew about her book, so she never expected them to understand. Ah, the regret that started it all; Qlifhat's tome. Receiving that one piece of literature so many years ago led to all these regrets and mistakes, scars and pain. What ever possessed her to obtain that damn book? Absolutely nothing positive came from it. Mastery of Shadow Manipulation was a challenging task, simply getting in touch with one's own darkness was difficult enough. She was no where near completing the mastery; and as her body drifted into her aquatic grave, she realized that one thing she didn't regret was not finishing her studying from Qilfhat.

The only other thing she didn't regret was helping The Winter Soldier. Yes, he played her for a fool for the longest time, drawing her back to DC in order to be recruited into HYDRA. Why they wanted her concerned her the most; didn't Pierce knew that she was more dangerous than an asset? Despite her reality check from Mr. Pierce about their informant, The Shadow Stranger was able to connect to Winter. Normally, his missions were to eliminate the target, not gain their trust and obtain any notable knowledge about them. Why did Pierce send Winter? Why not Rumlow, or a regular agent? Too late to ask. Before long, her lungs would fill with the icy liquid and her heart would be deprived of air. Her life, depicted as the Monster of Mountain Pass, would be over in one huge convulsive and she could no longer regret. She only whispered a weak prayer that Winter would one day figure out who he really is and not the weapon HYDRA had programmed him to be. The Shadow Stranger's chapter was ending; unfinished and still unanswered. The book would find a new owner, like it always does. The Shadow Stranger's side of the destruction of her home town would die with her; it was probably for the best. The population wouldn't be able to handle what really happened, no matter how spotty her memory was during the actual burning.

Once her dull green eyes slid open, she wasn't surprised to see nothing but black around her; she was sinking after all. What she couldn't understand was when she exhaled a huge breath, nothing seeped into her throat. Ice cold water wasn't sucked in when she inhaled either. _Strange._ She was unable to visibly watch the last bits of her breath being carried to the surface of the river. _Am I already dead? Did the impact from the fall snap my spine?_ Her lazy gaze circled around her, trying to recognize anything. _Is this the afterlife? Am I to stay in darkness for the rest of eternity?_ It would be a fitting ending; the majority of her life was with shadows, why wouldn't her spirit be lost forever in a shade?

Gaining the energy to turn her head to broaden her view, she was immediately halted by a cringing pain. Instinctively, she put her hand over the sore area, her left shoulder. "Holy shit," she gasped. Why did it hurt? Wasn't she dead? Testing her friction zone of her mobility with her pain induced shoulder, Erin lightly rolled her joint. The result was that she couldn't help it at all.

"Oh my God," she muttered a handful of swear words under her breath as she gently rocked back and forth to accommodate the misery. "What the hell?"

Disregarding her predisposition of waking up in the river, Erin struggled to sit upright as much as her body would allow her. Cradling her aching shoulder, she bit her bottom lip to exert a small portion of pain. Draped over her slender shoulders and around her legs were drenched clothing that squished whenever she moved. Carefully parted away from her face, Erin's thick locks of black curls clung to her ear for support. Underneath her was a puddle of water. Did she hit the river? Why was she wet? "What the hell is going on?"

Her next move was to stand, but it was interrupted. Erin's ears peaked at a familiar sound of a lamp clicking on. Across the room a small desk lamp was switched on and let a hazy light filter the area. Her breath was lost as she witnessed something she never considered to be a possibility.

Standing slightly hunched over by the tiny lamp, The WInter Soldier had his fixed deep blue eyes on her. His dark hair was soaked as well, dripping onto his black tactical uniform and empty weapon pouches in his belt and shoulder straps. Slowly drawing his mechanical arm away from the meager light source, The Winter Soldier squared his large shoulders and turned to her. Just as every time before, Erin couldn't read what he was thinking; she assumed that he was about to put a bullet into her skull. He had attacked her on the helicarrier, why wouldn't he try to complete his mission?

"How did you do it?" he asked, barely above a whisper.

Erin's dislocated shoulder hindered all possible escape routes. And, quite frankly, she wanted to know what he was referring to. He seemed a bit delirious and crazed, and with previous knowledge of his prosthetic, Erin was terrified of him to deny him the answers he was looking for.

"D-do what?" she stammered.

The Winter Soldier didn't move, but seemed to flinch. Was he in pain? Or simply looking for the right words to phrase his question? Erin watched him intently as he raised his coiled arm and studied it for a minute, constantly turning it over and gently flexing his fingers. Once he found what he was looking for, his attention went back to Erin.

"When you grabbed for me," he began quietly, but gained more courage as he spoke, "On the Charlie carrier. I felt it. How did you do it?"

That wasn't exactly a rephrased question, just an explanation. However, she didn't want to tempt fate by answering him with the same response.

"When you were hanging off the edge, right?" she thought back to the glass frame on the belly of the flying fortress. The first thing she recalled was rolling off the platform and cracking her shoulder; again. Then she saw the support beam charge at her from the ceiling, and leaning against the spire to find him pinned. After using her shadows to help Rogers free him, another beam fell and caused the two men to fall; but Winter had grabbed ahold of the metal frame. Just as a desperate attempt, she tried to pull him up. Erin had absolutely no upper body strength, so her idea was flawed from the beginning. But when she touched his arm, it seemed to sear her palm. Recalling the odd sensation, she looked at her hand looking for answers. It didn't hold any burn marks or strenuous fissures. That had happened before. While Pierce was scrubbing his mind, she had placed a comforting hand on his forearm; it scorched under her touch, but that was because of the electric shocks to his brain and branching throughout his body, right? Why did it happen for a second time? "I-I don't know." Erin didn't want to give him a false answer. She was done lying to people, especially Winter, even if he didn't remember her.

The lack of definite answer didn't faze The WInter Soldier. Maybe it was the honestly terrified expression painted on Erin's face that caused him to finally breathe out. Her shoulder ached while she stared up to him with huge fearful eyes, never averting her gaze and hardly blinking. Another pain shot through her; as she watched this man, she knew it wasn't the same man she had grown to enjoy. He didn't know her. It was causing a tight grip to strengthen around her heart and pressure on her lungs. The longer she looked at him, the more it hurt. But, she couldn't force herself to turn away. Who was this man now? Just a HYDRA soldier following orders? A small part of her stubbornly refused to believe that he was completely gone. If he was just one of HYDRA's pawns again, why wasn't she dead? In fact, why didn't the fall from the carrier kill her?

"How did I-" she began to ask aloud, still used to having Winter as a friend, but when he raised an eyebrow at her when she spoke, she caught herself. The fear reinstalling in her. He could easily end her life, why wouldn't he?

When she started to ask a question, The Winter Soldier was brought from his own thoughts and back to the cramped room. He focused his gaze at the drenched girl, expecting her to finish speaking. Disregarding all previous training to remain silent, The Winter Soldier took a step towards her, curious as to what she wanted. "What?"

She couldn't find her courage to openly talk again, so she sat holding a frightened gaze at him.

"Stop that," he muttered, tilting his head away.

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't reign in her fear; she had trusted him and he ended up double-crossing her, giving all of her information to HYDRA. This man standing before her knew nothing and had no reason to not hurt her. How she managed to get this far with him was incredible, and she was scared to say the wrong thing and pissing him off. From the alleged stories about him online and her own encounter of how he handles his targets, Erin had every fiber in her being telling her to stay quiet.

"Erin, stop," he said again.

The cowering girl froze in bewilderment. For a moment, she wasn't terrified of him; just confused. "How the hell did you know-"

"You told me," when he clarified, his eyes seemed to focus on something in the distance rather than Erin.

According to his slight facial expressions, The Shadow Stranger was able to actually know what he was feeling; disorientation. Partially because she was experiencing the same emotion. He said her name, her _name._ Not only that, but their short exchange of dialogue was vaguely familiar as well; the way he seemed to plead with her to stop staring with fearful eyes. They had a conversation strangely similar back in Houston, when he first found her outside of DC. Or did HYDRA aid him in locating her? That was a possibility, but pointless at the moment.

While The Winter Soldier stood dripping cold water onto the ground under him, Erin bit her lip to hold back a moan of torture as she pushed her way to her feet. Dislocated shoulder in hand, she stumbled and got a crazy head rush. All of the blood raced to her head and made her weak and stagger forward. For a moment, her vision was impaired and her body nearly crumbled under it's own weight. Blinking the rush away, and lightly shaking her dizzy head, Erin realized that her knees had given out. But she wasn't on the floor; The Winter Soldier had hurried to grab her. He only used his mechanical arm, pressing her to his chest and holding her steady as her wits returned to her. Dazed, confused, and a little scared at how close they suddenly became, Erin dared to glance at him.

He didn't wait for her to say anything, only because he had suspected that she wouldn't. "I'm not going to hurt you." The Winter Soldier saw in her big green eyes that she was surprised again; hopefully that was a good thing. "I won't."

His tone was sincere and honest; she even found a trace of a promise in those words.

Did he remember her? Otherwise, this was a serious case of deja vu. Everything was just like it was when he found her in Texas. The words, the tone, even his eyes. The blue in them were troubled, and clearly struggling. Yet, she felt as though she knew this man. Does this man know her? Was she imagining things? No, everything was exactly like it was back in Houston. It was her throbbing shoulder that ensured her that she wasn't dreaming.

Her own eyes clouded with happiness; fear pushed aside, she quickly wrapped her functioning arm around his waist and hugged him. Burying her face in his chest to secretly add to his wet clothes, Erin felt him tense up and hesitate, unaware of what to do next. She didn't let go, quietly crying into his chest and just barely feeling his heartbeat through the thick tactical uniform. Just before she was going to release him, The Winter Soldier repositioned his arm to return the embrace. Even going as far as to rest his chin on her head. They never hugged before Pierce erased his mind, but Erin enjoyed it.

She had been the first to gently pull away, allowing her arm to linger on his hip. Erin barely had a chance to smile at him before he snapped her shoulder back. With one solid motion, he had relocated her joint. Naturally, she wasn't prepared for such a dramatic change in pace. Standing, mouth ajar and shoulder pulsating from a new form of pain, Erin blinked in confusion as a tear escaped. Originally made out of happiness, it raced down her cheek for a more arduous reason.

"It was dislocated," Winter explained after examining her distressed face.

"Give a damn warning!" she stepped away, still crying. As more salty tears ran down her face, she took deep breaths to calm herself. Winter didn't necessarily scare her anymore, but he definitely hurt her. Not in the traditional way, but popping a shoulder back in place hurt like hell, especially when it was cracked out before and had scar tissue. Regardless, she was daring to be more outspoken to him; she always made sure to choose appropriate diction.

"Now do mine," he said.

"What?" she exhaled in a distrainuous way.

"You have to do mine," Winter stayed stone faced and barely moved. While Erin was rubbing her tender shoulder she gave him a quizzical look. He subtly gestured to his normal arm. Upon further investigation, Erin realized that it was hanging lazily in the same way her arm was before he locked it back in place.

"You've got to be kidding me," shaking her head to continue deny his request. "I can't. I-I don't-"

"I caught you from that free fall," he cut her off and slightly narrowing his eyes at her, causing her to clam up and become more defensive, "If I didn't, the impact from hitting the river would have killed you." Winter was holding a serious glare at her, practically demanding that she help. "Pop it back."

She allowed a buffer between his request and her reply, "I would, if I knew how." Erin clarified why she refused to try. Her grandfather tried to give her a few pointers on quick stitch jobs and first aid, but nothing as serious as a dislocated shoulder. She didn't even know how Winter was able to quickly pop it back into place with one arm. "I don't want to try and make it worse."

Winter took a second to study her, attempting to search for any tells of lying; she wasn't. "What kind of HYDRA agent doesn't know how to relocate shoulder joints?"

"HYDRA?" she repeated.

"You're the traitor HYDRA agent," he said, holding up his flesh arm by the elbow.

"Did Pierce tell you that?" Why was he so determined to display her as a member of his insane organization? What was his endgame? What was he getting out of making her reputation even worse than simply burning down her hometown? "Well, I was never in HYDRA, or SHIELD for that matter. You can call me an 'independent party,' if you want. So I can't help you."

There was a bit of an awkward silence between to two. Erin was cradling her aching shoulder while Winter kept a stern gaze at her. During their moment of quiet, Erin held herself back from hugging him again. He had knew her name; was he expected to know the name of all his targets? But, he said that she had told him. Did that mean that he remembered? Pierce was very thorough of scrubbing his mind of memories; hell, HYDRA's been doing that for over sixty years. The fact that he recalled her name just gave her the far-flung hope that he remembered more. But, how?

However, she wasn't given the chance to change the subject. The Winter Soldier stiffened and sat on the edge of the bed behind Erin. "I'll show you," he said, staring off into the distance.

"What?"

"How to pop the joint back together," while he clarified, she took the opportunity to quickly examine the room they were in. Thankfully, it wasn't his cryostasis chamber; she had had enough of that dungeon for one lifetime. Dull street lights were filtering through thin window shades and a cheap television set was sitting on a large dresser. After a short minute of searching, she knew where they were. He had brought her to her rented motel room.

"How did you know about my room?"

"If you weren't involved with the blond haired man on the helicarriers, then this was where I was instructed to eliminate you," he answered bluntly.

"Very reassuring." Apparently, HYDRA had more eyes on her than she anticipated.

Winter ignored her remark. "Keep one hand just under the ball," he began to explain the procedure, "And the other on the blade." As he instructed her, Erin timidly placed her hands where he said. Her own shoulder was pulsating and pleaded with her to refrain from using it. Although, she did owe Winter her life for breaking her fall from the helicarrier. The least she could do was try; what was the worst that could happen?

"LIke that?" she mentioned to the placement of her hands.

He adjusted her right hand higher and continued his instructions. "You need to be fast, pushing upward and using your other hand from preventing missing the socket." He led her hand upward in a small demonstration, "Do that, but much more force."

Feeling his dislocated joint was starting to creep her out; small amounts of blood caused her to get faint hearted, so physically touching a dislocated joint was making her skin crawl. Resisting the urge to slink away, she focused on her own painful shoulder. If he could do it was one arm, she should be able to do it with two. "Okay," she muttered, "You ready?" Winter simply nodded, keeping his head forward. Honestly, she was talking to herself, trying to coach herself to actually attempting to pop a joint back into place. _One, two, three! _She pushed his limp arm upward and towards her other hand. With all his muscle and tactical gear on, his arm was heavier than she expected. Nonetheless, she used all her might to bring his shoulder back to it's original place. He grunted, but didn't move. Erin felt the bones in his shoulder blade shift and finally pulled away.

Cringing away, she studied his injury; did she make it worse? It sure as hell looked like it. "Oh my God," a hand cupped over her mouth. Winter didn't say anything, only used his working arm to adjust the placement of the ball and socket. She flinched when she heard a crack and turned away. "Oh God," she muttered.

Underneath him, the springs in the cheap bed creaked and relaxed. He took heavy steps around her, rolling his normal arm. The Winter Soldier didn't say anything. But the way he walked, and moved his right arm, she guessed that he was able to fix the mistake she made. Taking a baseball cap off of the coatrack by the door, he turned the knob and pulled it open.

"Where are you going?" Erin still had a lot of questions for him, he couldn't leave just yet. "How did you remember me?" she quickly blurted out; that was the one gnawing at her the most.

Placing the cap on his head and glancing over his mechanical arm, he gave a surprising answer, "By your touch." Then he left the motel room.

For a long while, she stood there, dumbfounded to say the least. Her touch? What did that mean? Was he referring to when she tried to pull him up from the helicarrier? That was when her hand burned. Why? "Damn," she sighed when she began to mimic Winter's movements with her own shoulder, "So many unanswered questions."

Her initial search began on the internet. With all of SHIELD and HYDRA's secrets leaked out onto the interwebs, maybe she could find something that could answer some of her inquiries. Using the provided desktop computer at the motel, she quickly found a ridiculous amount of information. Everything that SHIELD had deemed necessary was available for the world to see. From the first funding people of SHIELD to access codes for unknown military bases across the country. Personal records of every agent, all black ops missions, the schematics of project Insight and whatever the Zulu Algorithm was. The actual algorithm wasn't available, but it explained that it could predict someone's intent of terroristic tendencies. Sounded a lot like science fiction, but wasn't too concerned about the helicarriers anymore; they were destroyed and over with.

Lightly skimming over sudden human combustion, she couldn't find anything that was even remotely close to her interaction with Winter. If her hand burned when she touched him, where were the scars? It happened before, yet the disfiguration wasn't visible. She spent hours turning the virtual pages of the internet, searching all forms of burning sensations and allergic reactions involving metal. Everything she thought of held no substantial answer. Although all of SHIELD's secrets were accessible, she still couldn't find anything that pertained to her scowling hand. An old Sherlock quote had echoed into her head, "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." Shutting down the rented computer, Erin brought her exploration for answers towards her book. Hidden in between the mattress and box spring, she pulled out her oversized tome and sat on the reused bed.

Legs crossed and keeping her left shoulder as still as possible, she started to flip through the thick, wore pages of Qlifhat's book. Her green eyes darted above the yellowed pages and over the vaguely English sentences. More hours passed as her pursuit for answers continued into the dawn hours. Erin barely felt time pass as she turned the pages and began to read the techniques for the more skilled Shadow Masters. Daylight seeped through the thin curtains and filled the dusty motel room with natural light. Erin kept her nose buried in her book as the sun continued to rise. She was reading the absolutely ludicrous techniques by the lunch hour; some were explaining how to create 3D shadows, such as a flower or butterfly. It started off small, with golf balls, nails, and paper clips, then elaborated to manifesting a portal in thin air. Another technique was changing the master's face to hide his identity. As she advanced to the last pages of the tome, the explanations of the techniques were less in English and more in the native language of Qlifhat, whatever it was.

The last four pages of the book were in English, but seemed like an index for the rest of the book. In case she missed something, she read each line carefully. Finally, many hours later, she had found a tangible led; under the B category, there was a mention of a Blood Seal. Both times she had touched Winter's prosthetic, she had left a bloody handprint. Honestly, it was a shot in the dark, but she decided to read further into Blood Seals.

The information she needed was near the back, so it was written in the other language. Some of the markings looked familiar, they had been written in the earlier parts of the tome. She was forced to backtrack even further as she tried to pinpoint the right markings from the back of the book with ones in the front. That resulted in another two hours passing before she was able to decipher a few words. It was crazy difficult and seemed to take forever. Her efforts made little progress, but she was finally able to decode enough words to get a basic understanding of what the technique was referring to.

Apparently, a Blood Seal is when a Shadow Master physically touches a person and makes a vow. To the degree of the promise, sometimes the shadows will burn a bloody handprint on the person; it fades away under their skin, but remains until the Shadow Master upholds his oath. When the Shadow Master lays a hand on the person, it burns as a reminder of their commitment. The mark under their skin will naturally disappear when the Shadow Master completes his promise.

"Oh," she said after countless hours of searching online and in her book. "A Blood Seal," Erin muttered to herself as she finally shut her book and stretched her stiff back. "That explains the burn from the helicarrier." When she had grabbed him from the edge, her hand burned intensely. It was the shadows reminding her of her vow to him. Her hand wasn't scared because it was just a sensation of her previous seal. In his cryostasis chamber, she had laid a hand on him out of comfort, not to make a promise. However, she did swear she was going to get her friend back. But, she touched him again when she tried to pop his shoulder in place and he didn't burn her hands; did that mean she completed her oath to him?

Before she could finish connecting the dots, there was a knock at the door. Erin hesitated for a moment, staring at the wooden door and subsequently realized that it was daytime. While raising a curious brow to the drifting sunlight through the windows, she stood up and reached the door. Her hand went for the lock, but it was already unhinged. She had forgot to lock it after Winter left. _Well, that's a dangerous habit for a traitor HYDRA agent. _Checking through the peephole in the wood, she noticed that someone was covering the view of the small glass. It couldn't be the manager of the motel, she was sure to pay for a week. Was this a SHIELD or HYDRA agent? Or just simply law enforcement? She would have to change her appearance again in order to lose anyone that wanted to follow her.

Taking a risk, she opened the door. Rather than being greeted by a barrel of a gun, a lovely woman stood in front of her. Her dark hair was pulled back into a professional bun and held a stern face. With soft features, she seemed to have an angry face despite her upright posture. Former Agent Hill of SHIELD shifted under Erin's green gaze, not speaking but silently asking why she was there.

"Shadow Stranger," Hill nodded to Erin, and she did the same. "I'm not here to arrest you, kill you or recruit you."

Erin kept her lips together, not wanting to speak to any agent from any organization.

"I," she began, but quickly started again, "_We_ all owe you so much."

"I haven't done anything," she shrugged her shoulders, a painful mistake that she did her best to cover.

"I saw you on the Bravo Carrier," Hill explained, "If you were really with HYDRA, you would have switched the processors back. But, you didn't. Why?"

Erin sighed and pushed her hair away from her face, "I was never with HYDRA."

Hill took a moment and studied her; looking for a tell of lying. When she didn't find one, she slightly nodded. "Whatever your reasons were, thank you; for not giving into Pierce's claim about you."

"I want to help people, not kill them. I've shed enough blood."

"Well," she lifted a folder to Erin, "Maybe a little less than you thought."

The Shadow Stranger eyed it suspiciously. It wasn't thin, there was definitely a small stack of paper in the covers. What it contains, she didn't know. However, that didn't deter her from accepting it.

"I suggest leaving here," Hill advised, "And soon. If I found you, it's only a matter of time before other's follow."

"Trust me, I know just how nosey you lot can be," she gave a sly smile to the former SHIELD agent.

"Good luck," Hill returned her smile with a stern nod. Erin took a moment to read her eyes before she turned and walked away. _She knows. Soon, everyone will too._

Closing the door, Erin fidgeted with the folder in her hands. What was in there? Why did Hill give it to her, rather than finding it out online?

"What is it?" a voice startled her out of her thoughts.

In the corner, Winter was sitting in the recliner chair. His arms were crossed and his gaze towards the folder.

"How did you get in?"

"You left the front door unlocked."

"Oh," she felt her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. "When did you come back?"

He answered with a shoulder shrug. His clothes were different; the were civilian. Instead of thick straps and a black uniform, jeans and a thin jacket covered his legs and arms. His right arm didn't seem to be bothering him anymore. It unsettled her, knowing that he simply walked back into the motel room and she didn't notice. She must had been really focusing on her research. Thankfully, it had paid off.

"What is it?" he asked again.

"Wait, why did you come back?" she tossed the folder on the desk.

Winter stood, uncrossing his arms and standing tall compared to her. "You said you were never in HYDRA," he took the baseball cap off, "Pierce said you are a traitor to the cause. Either way, I need your help."

"Help?" she sounded like a parrot, always repeating words he had said.

"I know who I am," he seemed to swallow his fear, "But, I can't remember. Bits and pieces, but nothing worth remembering. You, too." He stepped to her; Erin watched him for a hidden knife or a concealed gun. "When we met in Houston, and when you were tied up in the cryostasis room. Nothing much."

"But it's something," Erin gave a genuine smile of relief. He did remember her; just not much. It was enough to give her hope.

"And, I know that every time you touched my arm, I've been able to feel it." Winter glanced at his left hand, the only bit of his metal showing were his fingers.

Erin raised an eyebrow, "When we first met, I examined your arm. You felt it then too. I thought you were always able to feel when someone touches it."

"It's a _prosthetic arm,"_ he said, lowering his arm but looking at Erin, "I'm not supposed to feel anything with it. I can tell when someone hits it, or fixes it, but it isn't the same when you place your hand on it."

"Oh," was all she could say. Erin never knew that; so from the first time she stumbled upon him in his chamber, he was able to feel her touch? Why didn't he ever say anything? She felt a little embarrassed regarding how much time she had spent researching why her hand burned when she grabbed him rather than realizing he could _feel her touch_ with his mechanical arm. She had laid a hand on his arm many times; why didn't he mention this before?

"What's in the folder?" he asked again, bringing her back to reality.

"Let's find out," she sat at the desk and opened the cover. After reading the first lines of the paper, she pushed it aside. She didn't need to read anymore to know what it was. "Why the hell did she give me this?" Erin became bitter and kept her gaze away from the folder. "It's not like it's on the damn internet."

Winter crossed the room with long stride and began to read the material in the folder. Erin sat, nearly sullen, quietly waiting as Winter turned the pages and continued. He was going to hear about her actions in Mountain Pass eventually, might as well let him know now.

Once he reached the back cover of the folder, he stepped away and faced The Shadow Stranger. "So," he said, in a dreadful tone, "That's what happened up there."

She didn't want to answer; she just sat, knees to her chest, awaiting his judgement for SHIELD's interpretation of what occurred on January third.

"Who are you?" The Winter Soldier asked.

The Shadow Stranger scoffed at his question. "It's about time someone asked that."

"According to this," Winter quickly flipped the loose pages to reach the one he was looking for, "Erin Memmott is an African American girl who went to your high school."

"They are correct," she moved the chair to face her friend; well hopefully, he was still her friend. "Erin was my best friend. The one person who never saw me as a monster, or weird, or an outcast. She was the only person in that entire town who didn't fear my abilities. The rest, they all screamed, they all judged me a _demon_, just for my eyes on that day." She cleared her throat and began to confess everything, "Even before I got the book, the whole town seemed to look at me differently. As if I was a monster from birth. But Erin, she took the time and got to know me. She accepted me as a normal kid. When I got Qlifhat's Tome, she was the only one I showed my talents to. I tried to teach her, but she wanted me to 'have my own thing.'

"When we were growing up, she made more friends, had an impressive social life, while I sat in my room, practicing techniques. But, she always checked up on me. She never let a week go by without paying me a visit. My parents even forgot about me when they went took a trip to France. Well, my adopted parents. Honestly, that was the best three weeks of my life. Erin would come over, spend the night, cook me dinner, we would do homework together; just being friends. Mountain Pass is a very religious town; Christianity. Mass every Sunday, praying before bed every night, all that jazz. With Qlifhat's book, I didn't have time to practice with my town. It wasn't long before they stopped asking me to attend church. In a matter of two days, the whole community knew I wasn't religious. It didn't faze me; they already saw me as an outcast, might as well limit my interactions with them.

"In April, that was when Mr. and Mrs. Temple learned about their pregnancy. The whole town was so excited that they threw three baby showers. If I wasn't forgotten by my parents by then, the fact that the Temples were having twins drove them crazy. At first, I thought that was what I wanted, for the town to forget me and channel some positivity to the new arrivals. But as the due date neared, I realized that I just couldn't live in my room, studying the shadows. When the twins were born, I was at the hospital. I held them in my arms. Boy and girl. And, when I saw how absolutely thrilled Mr. and Mrs. Temple were, to the point of tears, I became envious. I lashed out and my eyes turned black for the first time. My parents called me a demon. And, for a moment, I believed them.

"I called Erin, begging her to meet me at the church. I went home and tried to look like a guy, wearing baggy pants to hide my hips and a hat to keep my hair away, so when I talked to the priest, he wouldn't know who I was. When I got there, she neglected to tell me that she was bringing her friends with her. She wanted me to show her friends what I could do with the shadows. But all I wanted to do was talk to her and get advice from Father Kevin. Once the others began to doubt my abilities, I got angry. And, that's what drove me over the edge."

The Winter Soldier stared at her, unblinking and with a blank face. She wanted to know what he was thinking, so she stopped and allowed him adequate time to speak his mind. When he didn't she sighed and concluded her tale.

"And after that, the rest is history. Seven hundred and eighty eight people died because I was jealous." The Shadow Stranger was harsh with her words but it was true. She had murdered those people for no reason, other than being a child with too much power.

Winter went back to the folder and turned more pages. The Shadow Stranger lowered her head in defeat, unknowing what he was going to do next. Why he was still in the motel room was a mystery to her. Once he found the page he wanted, he spoke.

"It wasn't seven hundred and eighty eight," Winter pointed to the words as he read them, "Amidst the ruins of the former mountain town, seven hundred and eighty six piles of ash were accounted for. The only structure unhindered by the black blaze was the church." The Shadow Stranger watched his finger skip a few lines before finding what he wanted, "Inside the church, two newborn babies were found; unharmed."

The Shadow Stranger narrowed her eyes at Winter. She didn't understand what he had said. "What?"

"You didn't kill them," he said, pulling himself from the folder. "They're _alive._"

"I-" she couldn't speak. Instead, she brought the folder to her view and read the entirety of the page that was open. Her green eyes began to become cloudy as she reached the part Winter had read to her. She completely lost it when she read that the Temple Twins were unharmed. Tears raced down her face and she couldn't focus enough to read the rest. Covering her red face and hiding her trail of tears, The Shadow Stranger felt a ten ton weight be lifted off her chest. She never suspected in all those years that they could have made it. She always assumed that they were dead, like their parents and townsfolk. But they weren't. Somehow, someone put them in the church. She didn't care who did; _they were alive._

The Winter Soldier allowed The Shadow Stranger to sob for a few minutes. He wasn't sure why she was crying, but her breathing alone seemed to be lighter. It was obvious that their deaths was what troubled her the most; what would she do now that she knew that they weren't dead?

She calmed down enough to stop the crying and relax her heart; everything about her seemed to be twenty pounds lighter. She wasn't as much as a monster as she thought she was.

"So," Winter spoke carefully, trying to avoid her continuation of crying, "Who are you?"

"Your name for my name?" she remembered that he said he knew who he was, just couldn't recall the memories clearly.

He didn't even hesitate, "Bucky Barnes." He extended a hand to her.

"Casey Temple."

* * *

**I hope you've all enjoyed reading my fanfiction! I'm quite surprised that I was able to finish it, honestly. I'll be going back through the earlier chapter and actually proofreading them; but for the time being, I hope you all got what I was going for!**

**Feel free to review (nicely, I would hope) and keep you're eyes open for a second installment!**

**Thank you for your continued support and time! **

**Much love! XOXO**


	11. Part Two: Lightning Edition

**((Since I had reached the end of the cinematic movie, I've been tossing around ideas for a sequel because you guys seem to thoroughly enjoyed my first piece. Needless to say, this is a work in-progress and hopefully will get the same positive reviews as the first part. At the end, just let me know how you liked it (please be kind!) and I'll just keep doing what I'm doing. **

**Enjoy the start of Part Two!))**

The Shadow Stranger was incredibly busy after receiving Agent Hill's report. The manilla folder had brought a small amount of closure to her, however that didn't change the fact that the entire world now saw her as a HYDRA member. With the incriminating video and her SHIELD file posted on all forms of social media and news stations, she hardly felt it necessary to reveal herself in order to oppose those claims. As soon as her face would register in a camera, law enforcement would pounce on the opportunity to "dispose" of her. According to the FBI and the CIA, The Shadow Stranger was a level five threat, ranking on both of the organizations most wanted lists. While she was starting her life, she couldn't help but watch a handful of news reports about her. No one knew her true name, so in the beginning, they followed SHIELD's lead and referred her as The Shadow Stranger. Of course, Fox News was the first to simply call her Shadow; shortly after, they titled her an abomination. She rather enjoyed being called Shadow, it was quick and she did control the shadows. Although, she was still a stranger to nearly everyone who scrolled online or watched the news; but, to one man, she was not.

The Winter Soldier had learned of her original name, and she trusted him to keep it a secret, just as he trusted her to keep his location hidden as well. They had formed a mutual trust and pack to withhold each other's personal information. And they both upheld each other's faith.

While Casey Temple abandoned Don Vito's hidden office under the doughnut shop, she picked up a town in the upper west coast and settled down. Rather than stationing a new forgotten store in the metropolitan, Casey assumed a new identity and signed a lease for a small house. Her new name was Sandra Witt. She obtained a new credit card and bought a new laptop. The first thing she did was wipe the default programs and began her cyber hacking again. It wasn't an honest way to make money, but Casey couldn't risk any company finding out about her true identity. She decided that she would volunteer at hospitals, just as she did in Houston.

After she sustained a good portion of income, she couldn't help but further alter her appearance; cutting her hair into a pixie cut so short her curls wouldn't spring and dying the new hairstyle as light as possible. Casey bleached her hair so her natural black hair now had a blond hue. A short shopping spree provided her enough clothing to stay further under the radar of the police; dressing in layers, often tank tops with scarves, white washed jeans with holes, thick skirts that covered her knees, all boots, and a handful of hats to conceal her face. Regardless of what she wore, she found a leather jacket would be her signature item as Sandra.

It wasn't too long after the incident in D.C. that she established a steady life in Seattle. Casey enjoyed having an actual living residence this time; although Don Vito's underground office held many perks, she found that having windows made her naturally more cheery. She was thrilled when she was able to purchase a new couch, living room furniture, a kitchen table, and bedroom set. At first, she wasn't used to all the extra room, so she was pleased to have the small problem of filling it with appliances. Even finding a theme for her two bathrooms was an issue she never thought she would get a chance to have.

During a particularly windy evening in her new house, Casey had spent the entire day attempting to program hacking codes on her smartphone, so she couldn't walk past people and get their banking information that way. She had neglected to eat anything or shower because of her constant tinkering. Once the sun began to set, a huge gust of wind swept past her cozy home and knocked out her power. Casey sat in the mild darkness, realizing her electricity had shut off. Glancing around in confusion, she sighed and decided she should clean herself up before having to find some flashlights. Hopping into the master bathroom, using what little sunlight was left, she scrubbed away the naturally accumulated dirt throughout the day. As she sang a song to herself, Casey towel dried her short hair and wiped down the steam off the mirror. As the sun drifted further under the silhouette of the massive structures of Seattle, Casey dressed herself in a fresh outfit of fitted joggers and a baggy shirt with the words "I Am Iron Man" printed on it.

Finishing up in her bathroom, she shut off the vent and swung open the door to find more darkness, partially forgetting the power was knocked out. Just as she stepped out of the master bedroom, she suddenly stopped. Her playful demeanor switched off as she felt something tug in the pit of her stomach. Something wasn't right. Standing in the doorframe, she narrowed her large eyes to attempt to figure out what was wrong; holding her breath, she couldn't help but barely hear a second person breathing. There was someone in her house.

Was she being robbed? Ambushed by HYDRA or SHIELD members so soon? All potential possibilities. It didn't matter; she wasn't going to let one person ruin the life she had grown accustomed to. The Shadow Stranger wasn't going down without a fight. Despite her lack of reading Qlifhat's book, she knew plenty of techniques to quietly take out one guy.

Taking a cautious step into the short hallway, Casey glided her fingers on the wall, ready to press her palm against the flat surface in a fraction of a second. Wide eyed and shallow breath, The Shadow Stranger entered her small foyer and glanced around the corner. Before she could register anything in her house, a force grabbed her. Pulling her away from the wall and slamming her roughly on the tile floor of her kitchen, Casey and the intruder wrestled for a moment. Whoever this person was, he knew to keep her hands away from the walls and cabinets.

Using a heavy hand, the man was able to quickly pin her wrists together above her head. Leaning over her, he immediately planted a large knee to restrain her legs. Casey continued to struggle under his force; if she couldn't use her hands, then she would rely solely on her shadows. His mistake, they were surrounded by them. Still squirming, the girl called upon her inner darkness and felt her eyes blackened.

"Stop, stop!" a hushed voice demanded to her.

The Shadow Stranger refused to cease her struggle or draw back her darkness. Before she could yank the man off of her with her shadows, the man used his free hand to turn a flashlight on. The illuminated side shone on his face to reveal a stubbled yet strong chin, fierce contours, and blue eyes.

"It's me! It's me!"

Casey glared at the man with bared teeth and black eyes; realizing who it was, she lightly gasped and subsided her anger, altering the pigment of her eyes once again.

"What the hell-" she began to insist loudly, but Bucky dropped the flashlight and covered her mouth with his hand. He leaned in close to her face and made a _shhhhhs_ noise.

The pinned down girl eyed him carefully; by the faint light of the flashlight, she noticed that his hair was trimmed, but just long enough to be tucked behind his ears. At the close proximately and his hand over her mouth, she was forced to inhale through her nostrils which picked up a universal scent from him. The aurora lingered in her nose while he held her down.

"You need to be quiet," he whispered.

He hesitated removing his hand until Casey nodded to confirm that she understood his request. Along with his hand, Bucky pushed himself completely off of her, gently pulling her into an upright position. She bent her legs under her and grabbed the flashlight. She didn't beam the light in his face, but she pointed it to the rest of his body; his clothes were ragged, wore thin with a couple holes, and his shoes were muddy.

"Have you've been drinking?" she asked quietly.

He swallowed his fear while holding a serious stare at her, "You can tell?"

"You smell like a brewery," she said. "What happened?"

Another hesitation before he answered; it might have been the alcohol in his system or he was authentically on the verge of tears. A trained assassin, once an army sergeant in World War II, a Howling Commando, and he was one word away from crying. "I know we agreed to go our separate ways in D.C. I tried, honestly. But please, I don't know what to do."

Her heart seemed to drop to the floor. He was her only living friend, how could she turn him away? But, there was a nagging little voice in the back of her mind that this had happened before. He was absent for a while, found her, befriended her, and ended up spilling all of her secrets to Pierce. Although both HYDRA and SHIELD's HeadQuarters were exposed and effectively destroyed, she couldn't shake the feeling of deja vu. She prayed that her decision wouldn't have the same result as the first time.

"All you had to do was ask," she said, giving him a warm smile.

Before she knew it, Bucky wrapped his muscular arms around her and brought her in close for a tight hug. She did her best to return the embrace.

"Do I still have to whisper?" As much as she enjoyed his affection, she still wondered why they had to be quiet.

"I think someone is following me," Bucky held onto Casey, not quite ready to release her.

"And you brought them here?!" her voice was low, but her tone was furious.

"I had nowhere else to go," he admitted grimmly.

"Rule number one," she ended the close encounter and looked him squarely, "If you think someone is trailing you, don't bring them home." She gave him a light tap on his shoulder, "Damnit, you should know that!"

"Casey, I just-"

Bucky never got the chance to fully explain himself. From the front side of the house, tires were screeching to a stop. The couple on the floor glanced toward the general direction of the source. Multiple car doors echoed as they were slammed shut. The lack of movement between the two led Casey to clearly hear the thud of countless artillery boots. A few clicks and ticks of heavy guns being filled with magazines sounded through the thin walls.

He didn't say anything; rather, his training from the KGB kicked in. He tightly grabbed Casey's wrist and yanked her upward. They jumped up and he sprinted into her adjacent living room. Bucky pushed her over the couch and hopped over, using his mechanical arm to flip the top end of the couch with him. They kept their bodies crouched low to the ground and utilized the upturned furniture as a shield. Casey rolled herself into as small of a ball as she could and Bucky particularly laid on top of her.

A few seconds later, her peaceful suburban house in Seattle drastically changed into a war zone. Outside her tiny house, a firing squad began to rain bullets on the exterior. With hollowed shells, the small metal pieces shot through the outer frame of the house and pierced everything in their paths. The furniture Casey had accumulated splintered and broke apart as the squad continued their attack. Wood chips flew off of the cabinets, bits of plaster jumped away from the walls, and glass shards sprinkled the tile floors. The squad held their position for at least five minutes, aimlessly shooting into the house to increase the chance of hitting their target. The front windows were shattered, the front facing support wall was nearly bare of the cream paint and a myriad of shell casings lay on the feet of the squad. Once every member had completely emptied their first magazine into the residence, they quickly replaced it with a full one. Keeping their barrels raised and their fingers resting on the triggers, they approached the house that could easily be called Swiss cheese.

The team formed three groups; one to attack head on, another to flank from the rear, and the last to wait in the street, just in case their target escaped and continued to run. The flanking team rushed to the tiny backyard and hid by the sliding door, waiting for the signal. Once they were in position, the second team ran to the front door, stationing one man by the mangled window over the sink. A silent count down with hand gestures and the two teams stormed effortlessly the house.

Automatic rifles and machine guns were held up as they entered the house. Quick turns to check corners and down the hall. Over each members face was a night vision mask to improve their sight in the dark. The entire team from the rear surrounded the upturned couch, guns pointing at the holey furniture. A mutual hesitation before one member used his heavy foot to bring the couch back to it's original stance. They hardly had time to register what was under it before they simply shot at the ground causing bit of tile and grout to bounce up.


	12. Chapter 12

Hiding in the closet of the master bedroom, Casey had used her shadows to bring her and Bucky there. While the squad was still shooting blindly, she suggested to open a portal to take them anywhere. Bucky denied, saying he wanted to know who was following him. Instead of opening a portal to New York, Florida, or even Canada, she brought them to the walk-in closet of her bedroom. Once the squad was done shooting up the house, Bucky finally released Casey.

"Whatever you hear, stay here," his voice was incredibly quiet, but she heard him all the same.

"Hell no."

"I can't protect you and fight them off."

"I don't need protection-"

"I won't have you get hurt for me."

As much as Casey appreciated his concern for her safety, she would never allow him fend off these goons on his own. She had forgot what it felt like having someone care about her health; her childhood friend Erin was the last person to show actual interest for her well being. Nonetheless, Bucky was in no condition to fight countless, heavily armed men. "You should have thought of that before bringing them to my door."

Before they could finish their argument, the front door was kicked in. Immediately, both of them shut their mouths. Bucky quickly stood up silently stepped to the wooden frame. Casey narrowed her eyes in order to just see him standing hunched over, a combat knife clenched in his right hand. She didn't care what he requested; she held her own against his tactical team in D.C., she could hold her own against whomever was attacking them now.

Countless loud boot thuds sounded from the hallway and her small foyer. Glass broke under their massive weight and wood chips snapped with each step their took. Casey was attempting to figure out their positions throughout her tiny one-story house; it was hard to tell with debris covering the floors. Suddenly, there was a shuffle and their guns unloaded again. She all but screamed in shock; it had been quiet minus the gunshots. Bucky had shifted his position slightly, but remained ready by the closet door. Straining her ears, The Shadow Stranger was able to hear one of the team to say, "They're still in the house. Find them."

_The element of surprise is still our's._ She thought, realizing that was what Bucky was counting on; he didn't want to give away their location. _He can get them head on, I'll go around back and corner them._ She didn't bother informing The Winter Soldier of her plan. Instead, she leaned a palm on the back wall of her cramped space and willed the shadows to open a portal. Crawling through the blackened circle, Casey brought herself to the perimeter wall in her backyard. Outside the house was slightly brighter with the last rays of sunlight beaming over and through the cracks of the skyscrapers of Seattle. Barefoot and wind chilled, The Shadow Stranger followed Bucky's led and crouched as low as she could get while walking. Thankfully, her hair only flared slightly from the howling wind; one perk of having a pixie cut.

Bright green eyes glared around the edge of her house. Casey could see the front bumpers of two armored cars with large wheels. Expecting the frames to be black as night, the front end of the cars were red. She couldn't get a good enough look at the license plates before she picked up on the rifles being fired. Slamming her back against the wall, Casey took a moment to breath and focus on her inner darkness; it was a few months since the last time she used it, was she ready? From inside the house, she could hear Bucky fighting down the men; there was no time to question her ability to control her demons. He needed her, whether he wanted to admit it or not.

Cracking her knuckles, The Shadow Stranger brought up her darkness and coated her eyes black; she would need to be quick, so Stage One techniques weren't going to cut it. Following the shattered trail of glass and debris, The Shadow Stranger carefully leaned her head inside her once lovely abode. She saw about five men standing in her destroyed living room, all with thick eye masks and military grade weapons. Their fingers were rested on the triggers and their vision was sharp, continuously scanning the wrecked house. The uniforms weren't black; they were red and gold. Casey immediately brought her head back around, covering the rest of her. Who were these people? Why did they want Bucky? Regardless, they shot up the wrong house.

Her anger combined with her overwhelming sense to help The Winter Soldier gave her more than enough confidence to storm into her house. Ignoring the multiple glass shards pricking into her feet, The Shadow Stranger ran into her living room. The men turned to her; but it was for nothing. With the wind knocking out the power hours before, the natural darkness was her ally. Willing the shadows around her living room, dining room and kitchen, The Shadow Stranger flung her wrist and a large shadow erupted from the ground, slamming into the armed man closest to her. His body smashed into the wall, causing the remaining picture frames to fall. His companions quickly aimed at her and squeezed their triggers.

The Shadow Stranger dropped to her knees and brought another shadow up to cover her from the barrage of bullets. As the men continued their assault, The Shadow Stranger came up with a fast idea. She waited for a man to get closer; hoping that if he stepped nearer, that his bullets would go through her shadow. However, her connection to her shadows overpowered him. Once he was right in front of her, she pushed the shadow out and wrapped around him. Clenching a forceful hand, the shadow around this man began to shrink in size. It was unsettling that she was able to feel when his bones snapped in half, but she couldn't hesitate. As soon as someone broke, she willed the shadow to disappear and release him; Casey Temple was not a murderer.

The last of his team resumed their firing after watching their comrade get caught in her shadows. The Shadow Stranger jumped and slid into her kitchen, using the center island as cover. Hollowed points whizzed past head as she attempted to keep her body was flat against the tile as possible. She was quick enough to open a new portal behind her, leading into her hallway. The Shadow Stranger jumped through and avoiding the firing squad. While they inched towards the center island, she sneaked her way behind them, being as quiet as she could with wood chips littering her floor.

Her chance to take down another man was lost; running through the wall of her master bedroom, Bucky lunged through the plaster and wooden beams, one of the members was under him. The Winter Soldier jumped up and was met with the three members altering their attention and opening fire on him. He was ready, holding up his metal arm to deflect the bullets. The Shadow Stranger ran out of ideas, but that didn't stop her from improvising. Thinking back to her interactions with Steve Rogers, she pulled up another shadow; this one was in the form of Captain America's trademarked shield. For some reason, this shadow held it's shape when she ripped it off the wall. With the manifested shield of pure darkness, she stepped forward and used all of her weight and whatever upper body strength she possessed to throw the disc at one of the men. A loud thud sounded once the disc bounced off his head and the man fell to the ground.

With two men remaining, one altered his target and began to shoot at The Shadow Stranger. She jumped out of the way and into her bedroom, staying low to avoid the rounds unloading by her. Through the darkness, she could just make out unconscious bodies on her floor; she secretly hoped that they weren't dead. Looking through the hole The Winter Soldier had made when he lunged a man through the wall, The Shadow Stranger could just see her friend jumping up and running toward one of the riflemen. While the last one was distracted by watching his fellow squad member getting beaten by The Winter Soldier, the pixie haired girl sprang around the corner and sprinted down the hallway. Bringing up one more shadow, she pushed the last man against the front wall of her house and opened a portal to shove him through. Once he was outside the wrecked home, his body flew through the air and crumbled as he smacked onto the hard asphalt.

Glancing back to The Winter Soldier, he gave one last forceful punch to the rifleman and allowed his body to fall to the ground. All of the red and golden covered men were down. Casey felt as though she was holding her breath the entire time and began to pant. Bucky looked up at her silhouette while walking away from the unconscious man.

"I said to stay there!" he scowled her.

"And I said I didn't need protection," she shrugged her shoulders. He could be mad at her all he wanted, they were able to clear out her house. As she caught her breath, Bucky held a harsh glare at her. "What?" she asked after huffing out a few times.

"Are you hurt?" Although his eyes were still angry, his tone was laced with concern.

"No, I'm fine. Are you good?"

"Nothing serious."

Shrouded by the darkness, Casey dropped her shoulders and exhaled loudly. She relaxed herself enough to bring her own darkness back inside. Once her eyes went back to normal, Casey focused on Bucky's silhouette; he was leaning on the center island and holding his face in one hand. Carefully, she stepped over the men laying on the ground and stood next to him. "What's wrong?"

"Just dizzy," he answered quietly.

"Probably all the alcohol you drank before fighting," she laid a hand on his shoulder, silently offering a support if he needed it. "How much did you drink?"

Bucky sighed and shifted a light under her hand, "Don't know. A lot?"

"Okay. Well, besides your blood-alcohol level, we have to leave."

"And go where?"

"Some place where people aren't shooting at us is a good idea."

Ironically enough, a quiet gun was fired and hit it's target. Casey felt a small prick at the side of her neck. She reached up and cupped around the thin dart sticking out of her throat and yanked it out. With the faint light of the setting sun barely creeping through the countless holes in her house, Casey was able to carefully examine the meager needle. Curiosity filled her eyes as she felt something slowly slither it's way down her neck. Her hands became weak; even the minute weight of the poisoned dart was too great for her to hold. It clanked onto the tile floor, just as the poison inched into her veins and muscles. Her fingers trembled and her body seemed to gain untold amount of weight.

"Bucky," she whispered as her legs wobbled under her. Before her body hit the cold ground, Bucky had heard her and quickly caught her. On the outside, her body became weak while her muscles shocked into paralysis.

"No, no, no!" Cradling her limp body, he dropped to the floor, shielding Casey from further darts. The duo didn't realize that there was another member lurking in the kitchen window. While The Winter Soldier held his friend's head against his chest and pressed her close to him. "Casey, Casey!"

"She won't die, if that's what you're worried about," a voice called from outside. "Only paralyzed."

The Shadow Stranger felt Bucky's heart rate accelerate with anger. She wanted to calm him down, however the muscles in her mouth wouldn't cooperate. Every command her brain would send out to her limbs went unnoticed by her muscles. Internally, Casey was kicking, screaming, swearing up a storm; but on the outside, she was practically asleep.

"We can do this the easy way or the hard way," the voice in front of the house called inward. "If you bring her out, we can give her the antidote. Or, we can shoot her dead. Your choice."

Bucky glared down at his paralyzed friend, silently wondering what he should do. _Take their bluff; even if they're lying about the antidote, you can still find out who they are and why they are following you._ Casey wanted to tell him, but whatever implement was in the dart was hindering her useless. Thankfully, she still had control over her eyes, so she was able to move them in the general direction of the front door. Hopefully, he would understand her intentions.

However, he was never given the chance. The third team seized the opportunity of The Winter Soldier stalling and swarmed the house. Two red and gold members ran in through the back and three entered from the front. High powered rifles and sub-automatic machine guns were pointed at Bucky's head. Even though she could only in her narrow field of vision, she knew that he was frustrated. A trained assassin, never before getting cornered by his enemies; now, because she didn't listen to him, he didn't know what to do. Was he thinking of fighting them off? That would leave her defenseless and probably dead. Would he ditch her and make a run for it by himself? Casey hoped he wasn't as heartless as the reports on the internet indicated. She prayed that she meant more to him.

"Will you come quietly?" a man asked while aiming the barrel of a sub-machine gun to Bucky's dark hair. From Casey's perspective, his eyes were as dark as she imagined her green ones could become.

_Yes, Bucky. Go out to their leader, figure out what they want._

With pure hatred boiling in his blue eyes, Bucky Barnes carefully lifted Casey in his massive arms, and held a stare at the man. Her heavy head was resting on his chest as he stood still for a moment, not speaking to their attackers, but giving them a stern nod to confirm that he would follow their instructions.

_Oh my God, thank you._ Casey tried to mouth her gratitude, but she still couldn't produce sound.

The red and gold members kept a steady radius around Bucky as he followed the men outside her once peaceful house. Stepping over the unconscious members of the squad, The Winter Soldier seemed to struggle to emerge from the wreckage. It was obvious that it wasn't the added weight of Casey's liveless body that affected his walking, his head must have been swimming with the blood rushing as he was fighting. She was a little scared that he would drop her.

Although his steps were uneasy, Bucky was able to secure his hold on Casey as he crossed the threshold. The sun was all but gone from the world and the strong gusts seemed to weaken for a moment as the squa escorted The Winter Soldier outside. The street lights remained off from the knocked over power lines. The neighboring houses were also absent from providing light, however someone had managed to inform law enforcement and sirens were blaring miles away. His hair was messy and covered half his face while gently keeping Casey's head squared and her airway open. Once they reached the leader of the squad, Bucky kept a good cushion of space between him and the man in the red and gold uniform. Over his eyes, a night vision mask shielded his true face. Since Bucky held her head against his heaving chest, she couldn't get a decent look at him.

"Now, that's a good boy," the leader said in a snarky tone. "Was that so difficult?"

"Give her the antidote," he growled.

"There'll be time for that later," the leader waved off the topic, "For now, you both will be coming with us."

"Give me-" Bucky began to demand again.

"She can walk through walls and open up portals at will. No, I think she should stay paralyzed for a while." Even through the leader's confident voice, Casey was certain that she knew the voice somewhere before. But, without the ability to see the man, there was no way she could remember him. Casey could tell that Bucky was tempted to physically fight them, to strike them down. However, with her still unable to move on her own, she was a liability rather than an asset. "Don't get any ideas. We won't hurt you, but her on the other hand, will suffer greatly before her untimely demise."

He shifted under her head as if he flinched to punch someone, but he held himself back. Casey forced her mouth to move, to speak, to communicate with Bucky; but whatever the needle was dipped in was still having a strong effect. Her lips lightly twitched however that was all she could successfully accomplish.

"Now, get in the car," the leader stepped aside and gestured to an open seat in the red car.

"The antidote," Bucky muttered.

"Right here," he pulled a syringe out of one pouch on his thickly maintained belt. A clear liquid was inside the glass bottle. "She will get it, after we all have a nice little chat. Must I say it again?" the man threatened.

Bucky hestitated. Casey couldn't help but feel as though she was weakening him; without her, he would have been fine against this strange attackers. However, he didn't move toward the car.

He didn't need to. Rather than blaring sirens from the approaching police officers turning down the corner, a deafening roar echoed. The Winter Soldier, along with The Shadow Stranger and the remaining squad members, seemed to hold their breaths. The roar was something none of them heard before; it was booming, loud, and deeply pitched to bring the blood in their veins to stone. The red and gold members began to glance around, from the dark alleys in between the houses to the shutters. Nothing was visible. However, whatever created the sound roared again. This time, Bucky clenched Casey harder to his body in a protective way.

"What the hell is that?!" one of the lesser man yelled. Everyone turned to him; but he changed the barrel of his rifle out into the darkness. "Holy Jesus!" Without warning, he squeezed the trigger and started to fire into nothingness.

Bucky stepped back as the man screamed and unloaded his clip. From underneath a nearby parked car, something of pure black popped out. It resembled a large hand reaching out, with many fingers and sharp claws on them. The shadow hand quickly grabbed the man shooting and yanked him back. Everyone watched in horror as the red and gold armored man was lifted from the ground and brought to the under belly of the car. His screams reminded Casey of Mountain Pass on January third.

As soon as the man was consumed by the shadows, the rest of his team changed their objective and fired in the same general direction. Rather than fighting along with his attackers, Bucky tightened his grip on Casey and backed away from the shooting men. They were shouting absurdities, and greatly distracting their leader. Once he noticed the leader aiming a handgun at the shadows, he saw his chance. Carefully but quickly, he placed Casey on the sidewalk and ran towards the leader. He had faced her away from the small battle, but she could still hear everything.

The screams of the men being picked by the shadow creature ran her blood cold. They were just too similar to the ones from her home town. As the men were being dragged away, the constant pitter-patter of bullets hitting the mailboxes, street poles, cars, and windows slowed. With her paralyzed muscles, Casey couldn't run, fight, or cover her ears from the horror stricken screams. All she could do was get teary eyed.

"Casey!" Bucky shouted her name.

She looked up and was immediately faced to face with a monster. Inches from her nose, a deeply blackened creature loomed over her. Casey glanced up at the beast as it hunched and growled at her. _Oh God. This is it._ She knew that it was going to take her as it took the others. Maybe, her death wouldn't hurt as much if she couldn't feel her body.


	13. Chapter 13

The snarling beast bared it razor sharp fangs at its prey. Casey was forced to remain absolutely still from whatever was shot into her neck. Her brain was shouting commands for her arms to push her up, for her legs to run, and for her inner darkness to shield her. Maybe she had the ability to open a portal under her and dodge the creature's death grip? She tried her best; nothing happened. _Oh shit._

Casey couldn't see the physiological form of her demise; everything within her field of vision was black. However, she could vaguely see the tips of her short hair being blown by the monster's horrendous breath. _Come on then, get on with it! _Inside, the paralyzed girl was screaming every curse word she knew; patience was definitely a virtue, just not in the aspect of waiting for your death. The moment lasted a little longer with the creature heavily breathing over Casey's motionless body. There was a small instance where the monster shifted its head to stare the girl in the eye; the only part of its body that was different than the rest was the soulless white orbs that it used to see. She stared into the tiny white dots and awaited her end.

"Hey!" Bucky's voice rang over the harsh breathing of the creature and the howling wind. Casey saw that the monster made a noticeable change in direction, from her to The Winter Soldier behind them. The only difference was the pitch in the low growl; when it was looking at her, it was softer but when it shifted its gaze, the tone was deeper and more menacing. "Stay away from her!"

The low growl within its throat immediately altered into a screeching sound as it jumped over Casey and lunged for Bucky. From her paralyzed state, she was unable to see; but that didn't stop her. Although her muscles were absolutely useless, the idea of Bucky perishing by the hand of this thing was unfathomable. The creature took all but one step towards Bucky before Casey felt a surge of unknown strength. Her darkness was pumping through her and was able to swing her body around. As a black aura encircled her, Casey turned her body and waved her arm around. The power she thought that was lying dominant in her awaken just enough in order to stop the creature from hurting him.

With an extended arm, Casey quickly drove her hand to wrap around the shin of the monster. She couldn't feel how hard she was squeezing, because her shadows were controlling her motor functions, but she wasn't letting go. The monster stopped short in front of Bucky; the trained assassin was ready with his combat knife and fighting stance. The black aura tracing along Casey held long enough for her to speak. It wasn't much, but her point was made clearly.

"Not. Him." The girl demanded to the beast.

It circled back and howled at Casey, as if shouting a response to her request.

The Shadow Stranger didn't flinch or bat an eye; mainly because her shadows were only allowing a small amount of movement for her. Her hand kept the bone crippling pressure while the creature growled in annoyance. Casey glared steel daggers at the monster, doing her best to intimidate this shadow creature. It wasn't long before the shadows that was controlling her arm were weakening. The aura around her skin began to fade and her head slowly descended to the ground. Once her head laid on the concrete, her arm dropped from the creature's shin. Casey's view blocked out the monster and Bucky; so she relied on her ears to figure out what was happening.

There was a hesitation before the creature snorted and skulked away. Casey relaxed her breathing as she realized that the monster disappeared into the night. Her heart eased as she heard light footsteps approach her. Bucky knelt down to his friend; without saying a word, he scooped her up in his arms, steadying her head against his chest, and carried her, bridal style, away from the house. It was painful for Casey to leave her fresh start; she had worked hard for everything in that house, and once again, she would have to start over. It was almost too easy for her to assume a new identity because she had done it so many times before. However, this time, she didn't mind. Luckily, Bucky had found her house before that team of red and gold attacked him; she never how much she missed him.

From the rhythmic pattern of his heart beat, Casey couldn't resist the urge to drift into unconsciousness. Before she reopened her eyes, she stretched her sore legs and stiff arms with a mighty yawn. Her shoulders popped and her joints cracked just as she relaxed and sighed with satisfaction. Peeling her eyelids apart, Casey was ambushed by soft daylight. It was filtered through thin window blinds and unsettled dust danced in the cracks. With drowsy green eyes, she glanced around and almost immediately found Bucky. He was hunched over next to her while twiddling his combat knife in his hands. When he noticed her, he silently shifted his gaze across the room they were in. Casey turned her head to see what he was looking at.

On the other side of the hardwood business office, there were two people; a mother and teenage son. She was holding the boy with white knuckles and tears coating her face. The boy seemed unamused by his mother's need for physical connect. Casey raised an eyebrow at them and then at Bucky.

"What is this?" She pushed herself upright and directed her question at him with a raspy voice.

"He saved us," the mother asked. It was obvious that she was hysterical.

"He didn't need too," the teenager scowled, "I had everything under control."

"Liam, hush!" the mother coached him into being quiet.

The boy rolled his eyes and pried himself from his crying mother. "Whatever," he stormed away from his protective mother and pulled the oak wood double doors open. Once he left, Liam slammed the doors just as his mother sprang up after him. Casey and Bucky were quiet as they exited the office.

"Who are they?" she gestured to the double doors.

"You're more concerned about who they are rather than how you're moving around?"

She took a moment to realize that he was right; she was able to move her limbs again. However, she wasn't given the chance to question her sudden ability to control her muscles.

"Do you really think I would allow anyone who posed a significant threat to be in the same room as you?"

"Well, when you put it that way," Casey shrugged her shoulders as if to express her lack of words. "But why can I move?"

Before answering, Bucky moved to reveal an empty syringe. He tossed it while replying, "The antidote."

She stared at the needle in bewilderment, "You believed him? What if he was lying?!"

"He wasn't."

"He could have been!" Casey swung her legs over the faux leather couch and buried her face in her hands. "Jesus," she muttered.

"That man had no reason to lie." He explained his conclusion.

"Are you high?! He wanted to shove us in that damn car of his and take us who knows where. Probably would have said anything to get you in the vehicle."

"Casey," he shifted from the armrest to sit right next to her, "You need to trust me. I've dealt with this type of stuff for years."

"More like for decades," she joked.

"Even more reason to trust my instinct." Bucky was hesitant, but placed a comforting hand in her shoulder, "I would never let anything hurt you."

Casey met his blue gaze with her own green one; they shared a reassuring stare. She was skeptical about trusting his instincts; even if he didn't remember telling Pierce about her before, there was a few months he was MIA. But, again, she couldn't turn him away. Call it her girlish, sensitive heart, but there was no possibility that Casey could deny the genuinity of his eyes and words.

With a warm, sincere smile, Casey leaned in and gave him a hug. "I know you won't." She agreed; this time, Bucky was much faster in returning the embrace. He was getting used to her physical contact. His arms held her tight and she gave him the same squeeze. Underneath her buried face, she felt his chest rise sharply and drop deeply; he sighed. Did he enjoy having her in his arms? It was all too clear that he seemed more relaxed, but wasn't that the point of hugs? Maybe she was just imagining things.

After a while, when he didn't release her, she began to gently rub his back and ribs. "What are you thinking?" she wondered out loud.

Another deep inhale from him, then he answered, "I remembered something else."

"You do?" She forced a gap between them in order to look at him in the eyes with excitement. "Oh my God, what?"

He opened his mouth, however his chance was lost. The double doors was slammed open and the teenage boy ran back into the office. With powerful strides and a determined look, Liam rushed up to the two on the couch. Despite the "insignificant threat" that Liam possessed, Bucky stood up and kept him a distant from Casey.

"I want you to teach me," he demanded.

"Liam!" his mother emerged in the room and tried to pull him away.

He freed his wrist from her and stepped up to Bucky, "I want to learn!"

"Learn what?" Casey raised from the faux leather couch, but Bucky held a hand out to keep her back a step.

"To fight, to kill," Liam answered with a dead serious glare.

His answer unsettled her.

"Please," she mother coaxed again. "You have nothing to prove."

"I have everything to prove!" he snapped.

"Trust me, you really don't want the ability to do that-" Casey knew all too well what the consequences were about hurting others.

"How am I supposed to keep her safe when I can't fight?!"

Before Casey or his mother could talk him down, Bucky grabbed Liam by the shoulders and shoved him against a wall. The framed awards from the lawyer shock and dropped from the nails and cracked on the floor. The loose shelves with legal writing books and common State laws stuttered and tipped over. Liam's mother gasped with water filling her eyes while Casey rushed after the two and tried to pull Bucky away.

"Hey, hey!" She held onto his forearms, provided a small amount of pressure to keep him away from Liam. Normally, she was definitely too weak to push him off, but just feeling her touch kept Bucky under the right mind enough to control his anger.

"You. Don't. Want. This." He growled his teeth and shoved his mechanical arm into his chest to demonstrate its power. Once Liam coughed for air, Bucky followed Casey's led and stepped back for the adolescent. His mother rushed to her boy's side and coddled him.

"Are you alright?" she breathed into his ear.

"No! I'm not!" Liam shouted at his annoying mother. "That's what I'm talking about! I can't even hold my own against one guy, when he took on like six!"

"You are two very different people," the mother said.

"I want to fight!"

"Bucky," Casey stood on her tip-toes to whisper in his ear, "What happened? Who are these people?"

Rather than answering her, he grabbed one of her hands and began to walk out of the room. She glanced over her shoulder at the mother and son just as the oak doors shut behind her. The Winter Soldier led her down the hallway and pushed open an emergency staircase. Stepping down each stair quickly, he brought her down a few floors before entering another level. This story of the building was a spa, a softly colored waiting room, soothing water trickling down rocks, and simply equipped with desktop computers for reservations. No one was behind the front desk or patiently waiting on the sofas.

"What is this?" Casey glanced around the white and light blue decor while Bucky continued around the entrance. "What-"

"Riots," he said, peeking around the corner and into a massage room.

She took a moment to comprehend what he was referring to, "In the streets? Because of the blackout?"

"It was city wide; the power's still out and no one knows why."

"Wasn't it because of the wind gusts?"

"That's what I thought; but they've stopped, and nothing is being done about turning the power back on."

Bucky released her hand and began to search the cabinets. She stood and processed what he had informed her. "It was only a night," she scoffed at the idea.

Closing a cabinet, after tossing a towel over his shoulder, he looked back at her, "A night? More like six."

"Six days without electricity?!" Her jaw dropped.

"You thought it was only a night?"

"Well, yeah," she admitted, feeling slightly dumb for being asleep for so long. "Why didn't you wake me? Jesus, the last thing I remember was that creature lunging after you after those red and gold guys ambushed us."

"I tried, but you wouldn't open your eyes."

"How? Like, what did you do to wake me up?"

Offering the towel to her, he rolled his shoulders in discomfort and then answered, "Do you remember what you did to wake me up, back in the doughnut shop?"

Casey didn't need a reminder; she was the reason why he was almost comatose, but what could you expect poking around in someone's head? "Yeah," she said, a little unsure of his explanation.

He didn't elaborate, just nodded to confirm. She held a curious gaze at him attempting to silently encourage him to continue. When he didn't, she understood all too well what he was referring to.

"Was that what you remembered?" she altered the subject a little, but her curiosity was not filled.

He straightened his posture and broke the eye contact; was he embarrassed? "Not exactly." Again, he kept the details to himself.

"Do I get to know?" she tried to be lighthearted about this subject.

Bucky ignored her question, "The government's blocked off all highways in and out of the city. Every major road is littered with soldiers. They're saying a criminal broke out of jail and is extremely dangerous with electricity. They shut the generators and won't inform the residents. They've responded with vandalism, riots, even law enforcement executions. The National Guard isn't doing anything; just waiting and watching."

"How do you know this?" Casey narrowed her eyes.

"I interrogated one of them."

"Oh," her disappointment was evident in her tone.

"I didn't kill him," Bucky clarified. "That isn't me anymore."

"I know," she said, unsure of how to prolong this conversation. "What about that thing that attacked us?"

"You don't know?"

"No, why would I? Apparently I've been passed out for six days."

"But," he looked back at her with confusion, "It was made of shadows. It followed your order to leave me alone. It obeyed you."

"You think I made _that_?" She choked up.

"You didn't?"

"There's no way I could have created that monster!"

"Are you sure?" Bucky's stern face was serious and obviously looking for any sign of her lying. "You once explained that your book was powerful and if you mastered it, you could do anything."

"Well, if you recall back at the basement, when I jumped into your mind, that didn't end very well. I almost lost you." The last phrase she said it with a bit more emotion than she anticipated.

"I'm not going anywhere," he reassured her with confidence. "Now, go shower. You stink."


	14. Chapter 14

Once a thorough scrub was complete, Casey emerged to find a pile of semi-clean clothes waiting for her. Getting dressed and finally covering her raw feet with slightly too big shoes, she towel-dried her pixie hair and examined herself in the large mirror wall. Dark circles were beginning to form under her dull eyes, small bruises spotted her legs and left an impression on her face, and her once manicured nails were chipped. Even after her long shower, her appearance resembled a weary woman leaving a battlefield. "Damn," she muttered, wiping away the rest of the steam on the mirror. She was asleep for six days, what battle could she have been in?

Dismissing her borrowed towel, she pushed open the white wooden, saloon style doors to be met by Bucky almost immediately. He seemed flustered and anxious by how long his strides were and the dreadful expression on his face. With a peaked eyebrow, Casey began to question his obvious worry.

"What's wrong-"

"I have a problem." He answered before she even finished her inquiry.

"You mean besides the rolling blackout, ambushes by red and gold soldiers, and that shadow creature lurking about?"

"Yes. However, it's related to the blackout."

"What is it? Food, supplies, looters, what?"

Bucky took a short moment to compose himself before admitting his burden to his friend, "Every day, I go out and get adequate provisions. I always go alone, but I always come back with," he acted as though he couldn't comprehend his next word, so he swallowed the insecurities and uttered, "Survivors."

"Survivors?" She repeated the word as if it wasn't processing in her mind, "Why are they survivors and not regular people?"

"Although it's been six days, the town has been ransacked. It's damn close to a war zone out there. The weak don't survive on their own during war."

Casey knew that he was too accustomed to warfare; he'd been forced to fight in a seventy year long war for HYDRA. "So, you recruited some buff guys to help us get out of Seattle?" Something wasn't clicking in her mind what he was referring to.

"Casey, the weak followed me back here. They won't leave, leeching off the provisions I've collected for us."

"But, we don't really need provisions. I can walk through walls and create portals to anywhere, remember? We can skip out on this condemned town and start new elsewhere."

Bucky straightened his posture, "I will not leave them."

"You just said that they were leeching-"

"They've never lived during a siege. Don't know how to act and how to busy themselves productively. I need you to talk to them."

She couldn't help but scoff at his request, "Me? Tell them about living a life under constant fear? I think you've got the wrong person for this job."

"You're the perfect person for it. You know how to ration food, conceal hide outs in plain site, and walk unseen."

"I can only do that in crowds; plus I have an unfair advantage of shadow manipulation." She tried to reason with him, how her trying to help the "survivors" was a bad idea. All she was good at was making herself become transparent to the rest of the world, not the other way around. "Why do you want to help them anyways? Please, can't we just leave?"

"Casey," he lightly grabbed her forearms and gave her a stern stare into her green eyes, "I made a promise. And I will not break it."

For a long while, Casey held a glare back at Bucky's blue eyes. Strategic lanterns were placed inside the washroom of the spa and were blazing a tiny amount of light. Outside the shower area, the lobby was filled with natural sunlight through the large windows. It was a poor substitute to light bulbs, but without electricity, lanterns would have to suffice. The two kept their pleading gazes at each other; Casey's to leave the forsaken city and start over, while Bucky was insisting they stay and assist the survivors. She couldn't lie, seeing this side of Bucky was taboo; she'd witnessed him nearly assassinated Nick Fury, beat Steve Roger's face in, even shoot at her on the helicarrier. Now, he wanted to help people, to ensure they live. Countless years HYDRA has been brainwashing him to be a mindless weapon, to murder anyone that stood in their way. At that moment, The Winter Soldier had died away. Bucky Barnes had resurfaced. He was changing into a better man. Casey could see more humanity in his eyes than in her own; that's when she subcame to his request.

"Okay, okay. We'll stay. But, who did you promise?" She sighed and voiced her curiosity.

He made small circles with his thumbs on her arm before letting go. By the slight drop in his shoulders, Casey could tell that be felt relieved that she sided with him. "She's wanted to meet you for days."

_She?_ There was a sudden ping in her heart that she hadn't felt in years; jealousy. Who was this new woman? Did he really find an interest while making runs for supplies in this hell city? And why was she feeling this way? Bucky never really expressed an interest for her, so why was she already so defensive by such a small word? Casey immediately reeled in back her secret emotions.

Bucky grabbed her hand again and gently pulled her away from the showers. As they walked past, he blew out the lanterns and closed all of the doors. Casey had gotten the feeling that he was used to this habit. Silently leading her through the softly colored lobby and back into the stairwell, he took easy steps downward. Casey counted four flights of stairs and a door on the evenly numbered ones; he had brought her to one of the skyscrapers in the city. Did it hold a tactical advantage with higher elevation? Possible, to gain a bird's eye view.

Only a handful of stairs remained below the door he pulled open; she didn't have enough time to count, but she guessed that they were on the third or fourth floor. Once she brought her focus to inside the revealed floor of the building, her thoughts of jealousy were gone and her wonder of where they were faded away. The two were met with many eyes gazing at them. People of different origins were grouped together and discussing miscellaneous things. White collared businessmen were chatting loudly with construction workers while female chefs were laughing along with housewives. An odd sense of collaboration and unity was present during this

crisis. She couldn't help but wonder which of these women Bucky had made the promise to.

To Casey's surprise, there were children as well. At least five. They were clumped together, running around and playing. When the kids realized that the adults had fallen silent to their presence, they all became timid and uneasy. Each backed away and quickly found their parent to cling onto. Expect, one of the older girls. Rather than the others, her large hazel eyes were filled with pure joy. Her mouth was slightly ajar when Casey raised an eyebrow at her. Children was never her speciality.

However, that didn't stop the child from sprinting across the suddenly motionless level and right into Casey. Her frail arms wrapped around Casey's waist faster than she realized what had happened. The girl buried her face into her stomach and squeezed tightly. The Shadow Stranger gasped at the hidden strength from the child.

"Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God!" she squealed as she began to twist Casey's stomach around. Before Casey could push the child off, she released her killer grip and quickly looked up at Bucky. Her face was painted with a huge grin and excited eyes. "Your princess is awake!"

Lightly huffing from the sudden embrace, Casey glanced at Bucky, "Your princess?" she asked.

A little flustered, Bucky pressed his lips together and held his tongue.

The small child between the two answered for him. "Yeah! He's your knight in shining armour. He rescued you from those bandits." Her voice had a hint of maturity to it, but her fantastic imagination was refreshingly innocent. Casey was staring at the kid more than she should have been reading Bucky's obvious signs of discomfort; her left eye had a grey tint around it and a butterfly strip was holding part of her eyebrow together; someone had hit her. _Who the hell hit this child?_ At the sight of her injuries, Casey felt angry at the child's parents for not properly protecting her during such a hostile time. "Please, please, _please,_ tell me your name! I've got a million and a half for you, but I _need_ to know! You're Princess…?!" She rolled her wrist as a gesture for Casey to fill in the blank. _Why am I a princess and Bucky a knight?_

She opened her mouth to answer, but quickly closed it. What name should she give this child? A short glance across the cubicle floor showed that the survivors were all waiting for her to provide a name. What did Bucky tell them? For a moment, she felt as though she was back in high school, giving an oral presentation and forgetting the most important fact of the project.

As a last resort, she brought her attention back to her friend. His mouth was still tightly closed and his assassin face was being displayed; she couldn't read him. _You son of a bitch._ She cursed at him for not warning her about this pop quiz. _What am I supposed to tell these people?_

Following the hunch in the pit of her stomach, she replied with, "Kristen, but everyone calls me Kris."

"Oh my God! Princess Kris!" The girl nearly tackled Casey again for another hug. "What a beautiful name!"

"Nice to finally get some answers outta this place," one of the businessmen scoffed as he crossed his arms.

"I'm sorry, what?" Casey asked him behind the girl's embrace.

The half suited man rolled his eyes and pointed at Bucky, "He saves us from the psychos outside, brings us here, and doesn't say a flippin' word to anyone!" With every word the man's tone got louder. Taking a few steps to the two adults and affectionate child, he resumed his rant, "All he said was 'I'll keep you safe,' and that was to that damn kid! Other than that, we've been left to fend for ourselves down here!"

By this man's tone, the girl eased off of Casey and slid closer to Bucky. Free from her grasp, Casey had the opportunity to fully examine the cubicles surrounding them. Some were broken down and used to make short shelters for small groups. Desks were shredded up and used for cheap firewood. The uncomfortable chairs were being used as play things for the children and makeshift wheelchairs for the few elderly survivors. The computers that once sat on the plywood desks were shoved into the corners of the floor, attempting to maximise space. All of the shutters were left open to allow as much light as possible into their temporary homes. Oil lamps and candles were scattered among the cubicles for continued light sources after the sun sets. Next to the stairwell she and Bucky emerged from, a pile of food was neatly sorted; juice boxes, water bottles, and countless canned foods took up the majority of the back wall.

While her eyes drifted up and down the aisles of the altered cubicles, the man continued to complain, "He hasn't said a damn word! Yet, he expects us to believe he's here to help us?! Ha! What a joke!"

His harsh and critical words snapped Casey's attention back forward. "A joke?" she repeated to make sure she heard him correctly. "I'm sorry, but who are you?" Casey was bracing herself to put his man in his place, but she needed to make a good first impression with the rest of the survivors.

"Professor Barnett. And I would appreciate more than shoulder shrugs from that lumbering brute!"

Cocking her head a little, and keeping her darkness at bay, she scowled at him, "Looks to me he is helping you."

"By making food runs every-damn-day?! We need a way out of the city, not more spaghetti-o's!"

"There isn't a way out," she answered sternly.

Just beyond the college professor, the remaining survivors began to mutter uncertainties to each other. Barnett called her bluff and questioned her on it, "Oh yeah? And how would 'Princess Kris' know this?"

She had already lied about her name, what was the harm of continuing her facade? "I was making my way out of town while the power was turned off. You know what I was met with at the outskirts? Military humvees, stationary camps, border patrol, and the National Guard."

"Oh really? What's the military doing here?"

"That's what I asked them," Casey pointed at the scraps and cut on her face, "But all I got was physical retributions."

There was a lag from the college professor. While Casey allowed him to get his bearings, she noticed that the remaining survivors in the cubicles were watching intently. Barnett was speaking what everyone else was thinking; only, he was adding his attitude.

"You're lying," he finally responded.

"Oh yeah?"

"It's illegal for soldiers to attack unarmed civilians." Just by his tone and confidence, Casey knew that he assumed he found her out.

What he didn't know was that she has been lying for years; a simple argument about military procedures hardly fazed her. "Who said I was unarmed?"

Her acting/ lying abilities seemed to surpass her shadow techniques. Barnett was shocked into silence as Casey simply grabbed Bucky by the hand and led him to a less populated area of the room. As they stepped away, murmurs from the others were discussing what Kris had informed them. She had achieved her goal of silencing Barnett, keeping her true identity a secret, and upholding a leadership authority; if neither her nor Bucky were in charge, then it would make assisting these people all the more harder.

With hushed voices, Casey stood on her tip toes and whispered as low as she could into Bucky's ear, "What's your name to them?"

"Barnett wasn't lying, I have only promised Marissa to keep her safe. I haven't said a word to anyone else."

"Marissa? That little girl?"

"Yeah, she's been with us since the first night. I couldn't leave her out on the streets."

"What does she know you as?"

Bucky darted his eyes around to ensure no one was within ear shot, "The Knight."

A little surprised that he actually admitted the small girl's title for him, Casey replied with a goofy smile. "Really?" She asked in disbelief.

Still vaguely hidden behind the shadows, Casey could almost see a color of embarrassment flash his face. That was all the answer she needed.

"Why does she keep calling you that?" Casey giggled at the small child's imagination.

"Because he's as noble and honorable as a knight!" Marissa bounced up to the two. Bucky rolled his shoulders and turned his head outward to the opened windows and to the ragged down city below. Casey welcomed the little girl into their conversation; half relishing in the refreshing change of pace emitting from her and half relieved that the woman Bucky had mentioned the promise to was a young girl.

"And how do you determine that?"

"It was easy. The way he carried you, protected you, and look at you; it's all there."

"What's all there?" Another ping of curiosity.

Marissa seemed all too excited to answer her question, however Bucky did not want to continue this discussion. He lightly grabbed Casey's forearm and shot her a warning to stop egging the child on. Marissa's wild smile altered a little to a disappionting but understanding. She was definitely old enough to know that Bucky's face was signaling her to leave.

"Can I know his name before I go?"

The little girl's hopeful eyes tugged at Casey's heartstrings. How could she say no?

With a quick glance at "The Knight," she came up with an alias for him, "Nathan."

* * *

**((Sorry for the late update! Ya'know, Mother's Day and all. But I hope all of the your mom's had an amazing day!))**


	15. Chapter 15

_Absolutely perfect._ Kris was hunched over with her legs crossed. A raggedy piece of cloth was tied over her eyes and a zip tie was fastened around her wrists. _Fucking perfect._ Within the depths of her throat, Kris growled in annoyance in refers to her present situation. Next to her on both sides, her female friends were shivering with fear. On the right, Jenny Preston was muttering prayers in her native tongue of Spanish. Emily Barnett, wife to Professor Barnett, was silently crying to the left. Kris continuously cracked her knuckles in order to keep her head straight. Two weeks had past since Kris awoke from her small coma. Nathan had pulled her aside after their rations for the day and explained his predicament to her.

"We can't show them our true selves." He was very clear and adamant.

"What do you mean?"

He held up his left arm to indicate his mechanical limb, "This. This makes me a murderer, an assassin, a monster. I don't want to be that anymore. To prove that, I need to get these people out of the city without it. That will make me a good man."

"That's not true," she recalled shaking her head in disagreement, "A simple arm does not make you a monster; your actions define who you are."

"And my actions became progressively worse once this damn thing was attached. We both did things with our abilities we regret; don't you want retribution for that? Casey, promise me you won't use your shadows. We can get the survivors out without them."

Even during that conversation, she knew it was a horrible idea. Why not easily use her shadows and get everyone out? It wasn't difficult; only she couldn't hold the portal open long even for all of the citizens. However, she could tell that he needed some form of redemption. The first night he came to her at her Seattle house his breath was laced with alcohol, his clothes were torn apart, and he was incredibly distort; he hugged her so tightly. It was too obvious that his past was returning to him and he was compelled to right his countless wrongs.

And now, two weeks after Kris swore to him, she was being taken by looters. This problem could be easily fixed, if she could use her shadows and get her, Jenny, and Emily out of his moving van. But she was a woman of her word. There was a bump in the road that caused the three women to bounce up and get rattled. Kris' face slammed onto the cold metal in the van. Her annoyance peaked again that made her growl in frustration. _These God damn looters._ Jenny and Emily seemed to curl up in the fetal position as Kris pushed herself back upright. Leaning against the rigid frame and allowed her mind to recall the earlier events of that day.

Their scavenging group was on a run; in the short time, they had a system. A group of five people would cram into a compact car and lead the way around the debris lying on the streets. Kris and Nathan would drive the U Haul truck behind them so they can fill up the back with whatever supplies they would find. A routine path was created to maneuver the abandoned cars and piles of broken glass.

Laying across the usual intersection, a freight truck was spread across to block the way. That was suspicious alone; three days before that, the intersection was clear for their moving van to drive through. Now, there was an up-turned semi with a trailer conveniently placed to completely block off the intersection? Kris knew that meant trouble.

"This wasn't here the other day," she voiced her suspicions to Nathan in the passenger seat.

The smaller car leading the way stopped just in front of the trailer and the driver held out a hand; their signal to leave their vehicles. Before Kris could turn the engine off or Nathan pushing open his door, everyone in the other car seemed to scramble out in confusion.

"They really want to get out?" she was dumbfounded.

"Evidently," he replied blankly.

With narrow eyes, Nathan began to examine any vantage points from the surrounding buildings and corners. Kris parked the van and switched the engine off.

"It's gotta be a trap," Kris immediately concluded. She wasn't as trained as Nathan in appropriate hiding locations for an ambush, but she knew something was wrong.

"More than likely, it is."

"Well, that's reassuring."

"The trailer is too perfectly laid out," Nathan pointed from one end to the other, "The only way to get around is to leave our vehicles. Even to attempt to move it out of the way, we would have to get out."

"Can't we just back up and go a different way?"

Nathan opened his door and swung his legs out, "Barnett thinks he's in charge. Let him make his stupid decisions." Ever since she emerged from the higher levels of the office building, Barnett held onto some childish disagreement with Nathan. Barnett reasoned that he should be the leader of the survivors because he was a professor at the university. At first, Kris enjoyed Barnett's little squabbles which was always the same; Barnett would directly ask Nathan a question of strategy and Nathan would stare back at him, unwilling to speak to anyone besides Kris. After Barnett insisted on a response, he often attempted to "get in his head," which never worked. He wasn't as good at psychology as he thought.

Because of Nathan's lack of words, Barnett assumed the role of "director of hunting parties." Kris simply rolled her eyes at his persistence for an important position within their camp. This was his first scavenging trip where he actually left the office building. According to his wife, he would spend hours planning each trip; of course, Kris wanted to call him out on his lies, but she rather stick with her silent friend and do something more productive than argue.

"Hey," Kris placed her hand on his arm to lightly keep him in the car before joining the others, "If something happens, get them out."

"No," Nathan said, "You're my priority."

"I can handle myself-"

"Last time you said that, you got blind-sided and was put out of commission for six days."

Nathan was sure to shoot Kris a warning glare before hopping out of the cab of the van. She only responded with a sigh and slid down from the driver's seat to the street. Seattle weather was very plain; cloudy with the forever chance of rain. Sunlight is often a rarity in this city, so Kris grew accustomed to the chilly air, darkened landscapes, and humidity. Just like every other day, clouds drifted over the buildings and filtered the rays of light to dim them. Her temptation to use her shadows always lingered; with the constant shade from above, she should be able to thrive in this environment. But, she promised to Nathan that she wouldn't. The longer she was stuck in Seattle the larger the urge to make a portal and simply disappear grew. Leaving Nathan was not an option, no matter how much she wanted to ditch this God forsaken city.

Kris' memory was cut short when the van slammed hard on the brakes, causing the three women sliding a little. She did her best to avoid hitting the back; if her suspicions were correct, these looters were looking for more than leverage against their base camp. _These two are in no condition to defend themselves. If they get me first, I stand more of a chance._ This was unpleasant, dark times.

Blocking out Jenny and Emily's whimpers, Kris focused on the front of the van; the engine cut off and she could vaguely hear their kidnappers talking. The looters reached their destination. _Should have made Buck teach me how to fight._ Shaking her head in past regrets, she shuffled closer to the front, attempting to shield her friends from the looters. Loud clicks from the outside locks sounded and the lever to open the door clanked. Dammit_ Bucky, why did you make me swear not to use the shadows?_

The door was forced open and bright, artificial lights were shining through the thin rags around the woman's eyes. Kris held strong, keeping her head facing the looters out of the van, and clenching her tiny fists. Baring her nonthreatening teeth, two sets of hands grabbed under her shoulders and hoisted her on her feet. Behind her, she heard Jenny beg for mercy in Spanish and Emily crying louder.

"Shut your damn mouths!" one of the men ordered.

"Well, if you let us go, you won't have to hear them." Kris pointed out with a cocky attitude.

"The hell you say?" One of her own captures slammed her against a brick wall; he was trying to be intimidating. Mere inches from her face, Kris felt his heavy breath on her cheek and a sharp knife pressed under her chin. He relied on his superior gut to keep her pinned to the wall.

She was afraid; but not as much as her friends. If this situation got too out of control, she already decided to use her shadows as a last resort. Hopefully, it didn't come to that. However, this was a crucial interaction; she had to show Emily and Jenny that she would defend them, that she would stand up against the looters. If she was forced to use her shadows, she had to make sure they knew that she was on their side.

Clearing her throat, she answered, "I said, let us go. And you won't have to listen to them crying."

He shuffled his large gut and tightened his grip on her. "Watch your mouth," he growled low to her.

"Make. Me."

The knife was drawn from her neck, but the man quickly placed it by her left cheek. With a shift slice, he cut down from her eyebrow to her jawline. Her natural reaction of flinching away seemed to make the man laugh. Instead of cutting her face more, he stepped back and shoved Kris to the ground. She landed hard, unable to catch herself because of her bound wrists. The impact brought the rag to fall from her head to loosely hang on to the base of her neck. Her loud gasp when she hit the floor informed the other women that she was getting hurt.

"Kris!" Emily called out blindly, with tears rolling down her face.

Jenny said a different phrase in Spanish than a prayer; Kris guessed that it was directed for her.

"I'm fine," she lied.

"You're not going to be fine for much longer." The heavy man knelt next to Kris and pushed her onto her back. With her vision restored, she was able to glare daggers at this looter and accurately aim a kick. The fat man wore a dirty wife-beater with sweat stains under his armpits and around his neck. A double chin, round face, and balding hairline was owned by her kidnapper. Regardless of his appearance, she wasn't going down without a fight.

"That's enough!" a new voice demanded.

The fat man kept a stern hand on her shoulder but looked up to the source. His expression altered from one of angry origin to one with a sense of resentful obedience. Kris continued to glare from below the man rather than following his gaze.

"Richard, she wants them unharmed."

_She?_

"I know that," the large man hovering over Kris said. "I was just putting this one in her place-"

"Only _she_ can do that." A disappointed sigh came from the other man, "Look at her face! She isn't going to like that." Kris heard footsteps approach her and Richard. Just off in her view, she saw the faint outline of another man. A quick glance revealed enough that he had a pistol. _At least one armed guard._ She made a mental note, then brought her gaze back to the balding, overweight man. "Pick her up, and bring all of them to her. Without any more scars."

The authoritative man stepped away for Richard to assist Kris up again. He put his knife away and pulled her upright. Kris winced at the feel of blood running down her neck and soaking into her shirt. His cut was deeper than she had originally thought. Once on her feet, she looked at Richard and resumed her cocky demeanor. "Yeah, Dick. Bring us to her."

It was clear that he didn't appreciate her verbiage. With a forceful shove, he pushed her forward. She followed his silent led and began to examine where the looters brought them. Floodlights were lighting the dark corners and candles were stacked at the foot of each one. A string of Christmas lights were hanging down the hallway and extra bulbs were placed underneath. Extension cords were wrapped as neatly as possible and left in a pile. Lamps, ceiling fans, and industrial flashlights were waiting in reserve for a future use.

Richard kept her walking as she fully studied her surroundings. A few men were posted with handguns and at least one form of melee weapon, such as a baseball bat, shovel, hammer, and whatever else was down the hardware aisle. They weren't trained or disciplined; their eyes followed the new group. _Easily distracted. _ She saw one man reading a book and another one whittling a chunk of wood. By the armory around on each man, it was clear that these looters were not affiliated with the red and gold soldiers from weeks before. The layout of the area she saw, Kris concluded that they brought them to a loading dock for a supermarket. They walked through the thick plastic flaps of freezers and stopped just beyond the metal door that stored massive amounts of frozen meats, fish, and ice cream. _How do they have electricity? Were they able to steal enough generators to power all those lights and the fridge?_ These were no ordinary looters; whomever was leading them was smart and resourceful. Her breath floated upward to the vents as soon as she opened her mouth. Behind her, Jenny had finally stopped speaking and became quiet while Emily was attempting to hold back any more tears.

The unknown man with the pistol stepped around them and pounded four times on the freezer door. _Why is he knocking? Is someone in there?_ There was a hesitation before he opened the door. A harsh, bitter wave of cold air washed over them as the door was held open for them.

"Walk," Richard pushed Kris forward.

Before entering the freezer, she glared over her shoulder and said, "Calm down, Dick. I'm going."

"No, no no no! I don't want to!" Emily tried to struggle free, but the strength of her guards easily forced her in.

Jenny didn't put up a fight and was led into the freezer. Both of their blindfolds were on, so Kris was the only one who could see.

Once the three women were inside the significantly colder room, the metal door noisily closed. _Shit, we're trapped._ Kris and Jenny remained quiet while Emily started to cry again and constantly mutter, "please," in between huffs. All three of the girls were shivering with the new cold and huddled close to share the warmth. It was dark; so much that Kris couldn't see a thing. Her fresh slice mark on her cheek was stinging with the chilly air and the trail of blood running down her neck froze and stained her skin. _What are we doing in here?_

"Don't worry," Kris brought her attention from the nonexistent escape routes and back to her terrified friends. "We're going to be okay."

"Oh, I do hope so."

As if by que, the freezer was lit up; a large chandelier sparked to life over head, causing the little icicles to melt. In the back of the freezer, a woman was sitting in a lavish armchair with an abnormally sized, weathered down book in her hands. Kris was immediately drawn to the book; from what she was able to see, the pages were blank. The seem of the book was strong enough to hold the many pages together for countless years. Her first thought was that book was Qlifhat's tome; the one she hid at her suburban home; but then, she realized that she couldn't see the text. Something was wrong; why and how did this woman have her book? Was she to be the newest Shadow Master?

The woman slammed the large book shut. The sound caused Jenny and Emily to flinch and coward more. Kris wasn't sure whether to interrogate her about the tome or to play dumb. What could she do? If she was chosen as the next Shadow Master, that meant something horrible was about to happen to her. She was either going to die or be swallowed by darkness. There could only be one Master, only one person to read the text. Was she about to die? Balling her tiny fists, she braced herself for whatever this woman was about to do; this time, her only regret was not helping Bucky. He was owed a life free from such disasters; she hoped that he would eventually forgive her.

"Now, don't worry about a thing- Oh! Look how pretty you all are!" The woman was younger than Kris was expecting for a leader. Mid twenties, long brown hair, modest figure, big eyes like a child, and skinny arms. Untying Jenny and Emily's blindfold, she pulled them away and smiled brightly at each. "Holy cow! Don't cry," she cradled Emily's face with both hands and spoke definitely. "Did those men scare you? I'm terribly sorry; but you see, I'm looking for someone." The woman went to Jenny and gently moved her messy hair out of her face, "This person is bad and capable of wicked things. My men out there need to be a little rough."

Finally, she stepped in front of Kris. Despite her looming death, Kris couldn't help but worry about Bucky. He made it clear that he didn't trust anyone besides her and for the few months they were apart, he drank his weight in alcohol; what will he do after she dies?

"Oh dare. How did you get that?" the woman's touch was soft as she tilted Kris' head in order to see the cut better.

_It's a trap; this kindness, it's a trick to gain my trust. Then, she's going to kill me. _Kris held her tongue and closed her eyes. _Make it quick._ Her brain had accepted her inevitable end, but her heart seemed to long for one last embrace with Bucky.

"It was Richard, wasn't it?" the woman moved her hand away from her face. "That man never listens. Once we're done here, someone will stitch that up for you." Her cheerful, positive disposition wasn't fooling Kris; she was up to something. This woman, her calm demeanor was a trick, a facade in order to hide her true intentions. But, what did she want?

"For now, I'm going to have to get a little personal with you all," she glanced at each of the bound women and sighed. "Not too much, but I need to put a hand on your chests." She pointed to her own left breast, "Just above the heart. Nothing more. Oh! And, I'm Lindsay. I hope we all can be the best of friends!" The way she clapped her hands together and straightened her back reminded Kris of cheerleaders.

It was almost instantaneous that her thoughts went back to Bucky. Even though Lindsay's uplifting attitude was meant to make this encounter less horrifying, Kris was scared. She wasn't this scared since she fell into the river in D.C.; and Bucky had saved her that time. Would he be able to do it again? It was a hopeless wish for her "knight in shining armor" to rescue her. Even if he couldn't save her, Kris just wanted him next to her; Bucky was the only one to make her feel safe anymore.

"Okay! I'll start with you." Lindsay faced Emily and stood incredibly close to her. "This will be a little weird, but I'll explain before doing anything. So, it's a tricky procedure; I'm going to essentially look into your heart. I know, sounds crazy. But, I have to. I need to know how much darkness is in there. All you have to do, is stay completely still while I take a quick look around, m'kay?"

_Oh shit. She is looking for me. That book, a procedure, and darkness in our hearts? I'm going to die. _The option of using her shadows to escape lingered in her brain, but she was captured with Jenny and Emily. If she could run away, then Lindsay could use her friends as hostages to lure her back. _Running won't work_. Kris couldn't risk their lives for her own; she was the one with the most darkness in her heart, especially after Mountain Pass.

No. Casey Temple chose this life, the good and bad. The consequences were all her's. That didn't change the fact that she was terrified and all she wanted was to be with Bucky one more time.

She thought back to when they were at the upturned freight truck. Jenny, Emily, and Kris were told to wait by the car and moving van while Nathan, Barnett, Marcus, and William split up and looked for a way to move the trailer. It was Barnett's idea to move it; he explained that if they left it there, it would only cause further delays and more problems. Emily was eager to agree, as was Marcus. Both Kris and Nathan kept their mouths shut and allowed Barnett the chance to make his make stupid decisions. Nathan gently squeezed Kris' hand before letting go and following them around the back of the trailer.

Damn, that was the last time she would feel his touch. It was with his prosthetic arm; but that didn't matter to Kris. Bucky told her that he was able to feel when she touched his mechanical arm. That thought brought little comfort to her.

While the girls were waiting, that when the looters appeared. Six of them; two for each girl. Emily had screamed when they grabbed her, which brought the men of their group running back. By the time they saw what was happening, each girl was being held by two looters. One man held the girl's arms while the second kept a knife by their necks. Kris had almost lost it and used her shadows to free her friends and attack the looters. But, Nathan's voice rang loud across the street.

"Don't hurt them!"

Barnett had glanced at him in surprise, but then held a terrified stare at his wife. Kris was seconds away from bringing her inner darkness and ending this hostage game quickly; but hearing Nathan shout caused her to look at him. That's when she realized, he wasn't telling the looters not to hurt the girls, but for Kris not to attack them. Her anger subsided and that's when she first became annoyed. Even after all this time, he still felt as though he needed to conceal his past, including her's. Actions define how good someone is.

Powerless to the looters, the men in their group watches as the girls were blindfolded, had their wrists zip tied together, and loaded into the back of the moving van. Before she lost her vision, she glanced at Nathan one last time; his assassin side was showing again, blank face, tall frame, and deadly glare. She remembered seeing his masculine hands clench in tight fists as he was helpless to them.

This was the first time she wondered what he was thinking.

"Oh my goodness," Lindsay whispered. Kris snapped her mind back to the present and glanced to the strange interaction between the upbeat girl and the tearful woman. "What a conflicted heart! Filled to the brim with love; how sweet! But, not for your husband. Oh no no no. Your love is for many men; someone named William, Nathan, and a girl? Yes, Kaity." Lindsay pulled her hand away from Emily's breast and rubbed her shoulders comforting. "My dear, I'm sorry to say that you don't love him anymore. But, by the way your heart was fluttering when I said Nathan, you should try for him. Or Kaity. Normally, I wouldn't give love advice, but how can I not when you don't even know what your heart wants?" She gave Emily a warm smile and stepped in front of Jenny.

"What did you do to her?" Jenny asked with a bitter tone.

"I looked into her heart. Just like this." Before Jenny could question further, Lindsay placed a hand on her chest and centered it over her heart. Jenny grunted in pain, which caused Kris to flinch.

_What the hell?_ Lindsay was silent for a few moments, focusing on Jenny. Kris recognized this technique; it was similar to what she did to Bucky back at the doughnut shop. She didn't know she could look into someone's heart with her abilities. Too late to try and master that technique now. Once Lindsay would reach her, she'll find the darkness in her heart and kill her. Rather than filling her mind with regrets, like her previous life-threatening experience, Kris resorted to thinking of Bucky.

"How delightful! You love your children back home. So adorable. Oh, but you love Anthony a lot more than Garcia. Well," Lindsay's session with Jenny was faster than Emily's. "At least you know which child is your favorite!" She was trying to be nice, but Jenny clearly didn't enjoy her heart being read to her.

Another step to the right and the disturbingly pleasant woman was in front of Kris. She was scared. Her secret, her past and regrets were going to be told. If Jenny and Emily make it back to the group, they'll tell everyone. No one will trust Bucky; his mission to get them out of the city in order to redeem himself will fail. It'll be her fault. Even after her death, he'll never forgive her.

"It'll sting a little." Lindsay placed her hand on Kris' chest. There was a sudden shock that made her groan in discomfort. It was like a static shock; only a bit more intense. Kris had dealt with electric currents before; both from SHIELD and HYDRA members. Despite previous encounters with sudden shocks, she wasn't used to the increased pulse and racing heart.

"Hm," she said in a whisper. Kris was anxious about the grand reveal of darkness, waiting for her faults and true identity be made known. If the electric current didn't cause her heart to pound like a jackhammer, then this small panic attack would have been the source. Lindsay took a longer peek into Kris' heart than the other two combined; that unsettled her. Why didn't she just say that she was filled with darkness? Why not just get it over with and kill her? This waiting for the end was much worse than any torture she could think of.

Without saying a word, Lindsay reeled her hand away and held a strange gaze at Kris. Her big eyes seemed to get filled with tears as she covered her mouth with a hand. _Just say it!_

"Oh my," Lindsay choked up and wiped her eyes before she started crying. "That's so romantic. Whoever Bucky is, he's incredibly lucky to have your entire heart."


	16. Chapter 16

**((Sorry for the super late update, in the process of moving. Having said that, I might not be able to update for a week or two. Hopefully everything works out. **

**Warning: Mentions and implied intentions of rape. But, not much))**

"Wha-what?" Kris asked with a huge exhale of her held breath.

"How sweet!" Lindsay quickly grabbed Kris and brought her in close for a hug. "You're the second person to have such a wonderful love!" Her tone was light and sincere. The sudden embrace was awkward itself, but her body was abnormally warm. It seemed like every part of her that touch her was hot water. With the hot hug from Lindsay, Kris stopped shivering and began to regain her regular body temperature. Why was her body so physically hot?

"I-I-" she tried to understand what was happening but it confused her. With a petrified face, Kris glanced to Jenny and Emily next to her. Emily had finally stopped crying and stared aimlessly in the distance. Her small eyes were puffy and red from her endless stream of tears. Jenny's disgust and dislike for Lindsay was plastered all over her cheeks and colored her eyes. A pinched brow and frown was enough for anyone to see that she did not want to near this weird girl any longer. Kris didn't blame her. Something was definitely off about this girl; besides the fact that she had Qlifhat's book.

It felt an eternity by the time Kris was released from this woman. She stared into Kris' eyes with bright and childlike wonder; it reminded her of Marissa.

"No darkness in there," she whispered in self satisfaction.

"But I-"

Jenny had interrupted Kris with an outburst in Spanish. She spoke so fast Kris couldn't even guess what she was talking about.

Still smiling, Lindsay turned towards Jenny, "I'm sorry, I don't speak Spanish. What did you say-"

"I want to leave!" Jenny snapped. "I don't know what you or those dumb asses out there want, but _I want to go home!_" She shouted every word.

"Oh dear," Lindsay lightly sighed and used both hands to comfort Jenny, "I would love to let you go, but I've made a deal with those men."

"Don't touch me, _puta,_" she snarled as a wispy line of breath lifted from her grinned teeth.

"What deal?" Emily chimed in.

Gingerly moving her hands from Jenny, Lindsay took a moment to study each of the three women in front of her. "I'm sorry, truly I am. However, I do not have to authority to release you." She stepped In between Kris and Jenny and pounded on the freezer door.

In unison, the bound women turned around and silently watched Lindsay waited with her back towards them. _What the hell is going on? Why didn't she see my darkness? How could she not know?_ While Jenny was glaring daggers at their playfully chipper hostess and Emily was constantly being brought back to her deep thoughts, Kris frantically wondered her fate. _Or, does she know I'm the Shadow Master and refuses to share that knowledge?_ There was a definite thud in response to Lindsay's pattern of knocks. _What is her gain? What does she want?_

"Please forgive me," whipping her long hair around she faced the three prisoners, "But none of you are who I'm looking for. Now, the men have you."

"_Have us?_" Jenny questioned with a heavy laced attitude. "What does that mean?"

There was a loud click and the faint sound of metal scraping metal caused all three girls to cringe. Behind Lindsay, the solid door was pulled open and a rush of chilled air escaped. The man who defended Kris from Richard had the handle in his hand; beyond him, four men, including Dick himself, were waiting. Although they all had weapons in their hands, Kris could tell that by their postures and relaxed expressions that they no longer felt the women as threats. _Why did they ever think of us as threats? What could three, bound girls do to this militia?_

"I'm afraid that is this the last time I'll be seeing you all," Lindsay sighed and stepped back, to stay out of the way of the makeshift pathway out of the freezer. "It was a pleasure to meet you all. However, a deal is a deal." She lifted her hand to gesture the prisoners out of her arctic office.

Before Jenny could demand a more elaborate explanation, the man holding the door open nodded to the prisoners and spoke, "C'mon. Out."

For an unknown reason, Emily listened. She stepped forward and out of the walk-in cooler.

"Emily!" Jenny gasped as one of the men grabbed her by the forearm and yanked her. Defensively, the Hispanic woman charged after her friend; in a futile attempt, she tried to jab her shoulder into the man keeping the vice grip on Emily. Two men jumped in front of her and held her back, restraining her away from her friend. Kris hesitated before joining her friends; she took one last look at Lindsay. Her wide eyes were depressed with a hint of hopefulness. _What the hell are you planning?_

"I said, out!" the man ordered as he clutched Kris' arms. He pulled her out and tossed her in the fray of Jenny trying to free herself and Emily blankly staring into nothing.

_Something's wrong_.

Dick had grabbed Kris extra tight as the first man began to close the freezer with Lindsay still inside. Ignoring Richard's killer grip, Kris felt herself glance over her shoulder back into the freezer. Lindsay was standing sideways with a hand extended to the hanging chandelier. There was a quick flash of light and all the tiny lights immediately faded off. Just before the door was forced shut, Lindsay had met Kris' gaze. What The Shadow Stranger saw gave her mixed emotions. The bouncing, cheerful eyes belonging to Lindsay were lit up; illuminating around her face and glowing brightly, her eyes were completely yellow. _Those eyes. _It was a short moment, but Kris knew what she saw before the freezer door closed.

_That doesn't make sense; if she's the next Shadow Master, shouldn't her eyes be black?_

A menacing chuckle emitted from Dick, bringing Kris back to her current situation. "Look who passed the test," he leaned in close and gave an unsettling smile.

The impending fear of her death was fleeting; or, at least it was fleeting enough for Kris to focus on the men around the room and her struggling friends. _I have to get them out of here._ At the snap of her metaphoric fingers, her priority switched from herself to rescuing her friends.

"We're going to have some fun," Dick said while yanking her away from the freezer. Emily and Jenny were being forced back behind the plastic flaps and out of her sight.

"Damn straight we are," Kris bared her teeth as Richard led her behind her friends. _I'm not playing around anymore._ She could hear Jenny shouting out in Spanish, probably demanding her freedom. In between her outbursts, Emily's pitiful quiet cries could vaguely be heard.

"The hell you say?" Again, Richard shoved her against the wall with his gut and looked down to her. "You want a matching cut on the other side?" He pressed the blade to her clean cheek and lightly applied pressure; trying to intimidate her. There was no way this fat man was going to scare her.

"Do it," she began her warning, "And you will be faced with a _demon," _ Kris hissed the last word.

It was a split second decision, but Kris realized that she was putting her own needs in front of her friends'. This entire time, she could have easily helped them escape from this militia but because of her promise to Bucky, she didn't. Without a second thought or any regrets, and regardless of Lindsay's search for her, Casey called upon her shadows. If Lindsay was going to kill her, then she would rather die helping Jenny and Emily than allowing the men "have them." From her core, Casey blinked and coated her green eyes with darkness as pure as night.

Dick was close enough to see the sudden change and flinched. There was slight confusion in his face. Not wanting to stay inches from her face, Dick stepped away from her and brought his knife away from her cheek. "What the hell-" he gasped in bewilderment.

"I warned you," Casey replied darkly. She gently pushed herself off of the wall and glared at Richard; she could just see him tense up in fright. _Good, get scared. Because you pissed off the wrong girl. _

Once her shadows were back, she couldn't resist but to "put him in his place," just like he did to her. She used her black eyes to hold his attention while she pressed her fingers to the wall. Willing the shadows to circle around Dick, Casey smiled wildly at him. She didn't have a plan, but now that she centered her inner darkness, and accepted her inevitable death from her usurper, Casey simply improvised.

"Knock that shit out!" He lunged at her; but she was ready. Behind Richard, a large black hand created from her shade sprang out. It wrapped its extended fingers around his body to prevent him from hurting her. Within a second, Casey willed the shadow hand to drag him into the source and into the darkness. It happened so fast, Dick didn't have time to scream in terror, but Casey could feel his heart running a marathon in his chest. The shadow hand brought him through the wall; Bucky's words echoed in her mind, "Don't hurt them." Rather than leaving Dick to the darkness, Casey opened a portal. Still in control of the shadow hand, she used a great force to throw him out of the portal and out of the building.

Shutting the portal, and no longer needing the shadow hand, Casey exhaled smoothly and willed a smaller shade behind her. Easily, she slipped through the zip tie. Her first instinct was to touch her chilled cheek wound; it was still damp from the blood and tender.

Down the softly lit hallway, she heard Jenny shout out in Spanish. "Don't you _fucking_ touch her!" She added an insult in her native tongue before there was a loud crack only made from skin hitting skin. Someone hit her. _You son of a bitch._ Casey disregarded Lindsay's chamber and bolted down the hallway with no weapon and no plan. Of course, she had her shadows. As she sprinted down the hallway, she remembered that she promised Bucky not to use them; but this was an emergency. _He can be mad all he wants; they need me!_

She barged into the loading dock and found two groups of men; one group of five or more wrestling with Jenny, trying to hold her kicking legs still while three men pinned Emily to the ground. Since Jenny was actually putting up a fight, Casey turned towards the three men at Emily. Cocking her head, she rushed to the one on top of her; growling and baring her teeth as if she was an animal, Casey felt a surge of power fuel her rage. It felt as though her shadows wanted her to have superhuman strength. Taking a page from Bucky's book, she used all of her weight plus the extra push from her shadows to tackle the man off of her. They rolled a few paces, but Casey wasn't done. Keeping her black eyes hidden from her tearful friend, Casey manipulated the shadows carefully to hide them from both Emily and Jenny's view. Forcing a strong kangaroo kick off, Casey used her shadows to help her fling the man into the far wall.

Without missing a beat, Casey bounced up and rounded back to the two men holding Emily down. Thankfully, Emily was crying and tightly squeezing her eyes shut. _Keep them closed!_ Casey ordered in her head; if neither Emily or Jenny see what she's doing with her shadows, then Bucky couldn't be mad, right?

"We got a runner!" One of the men wrestling with Jenny called out; his tone was joyful and sinisterly fun. There was a chorus of cheers from the majority of the men. If they saw her eyes or what she did to their comrade, they would not be cheering.

"No," she corrected them, "You got a _monster_."

Realizing that Jenny's group didn't hear her, Casey faced back to the two men holding Emily. Utilizing the darkness in her eyes, she felt another surge of adrenaline. She felt unstoppable. It wasn't more than a handful of steps before she was at Emily's side. A quick check to ensure her eyes were still shut, Casey flung her arm away; the shadow underneath one of the men sprang up and slammed against the stacked wooden pallets. Keeping her momentum, she spun around and aimed her foot to the last man by Emily.

He had enough time to jump up and release Emily, but that didn't throw off Casey at all. Around her extended foot, a black aura lingered and was the source of her added force. Although the man had moved back, it seemed to be pointless; all it changed was where her heavy foot smashed into. Originally, she wanted to hit his head, but the shadows helped her crack into his stomach. Once her tipped foot made contact, she followed through and sent the man to the side.

Standing over Emily in a protective stance, Casey determined that all three of the men were knocked out or knew better than to prolong her rage. Once Emily was freed from the men, she curled into a ball and wept silently. Her hair was long enough to shield her face from Casey's crazed face and black eyes.

She had to admit, it felt good to use her shadows again. It had been too long and now she had a new trick.

On the other side of the room, one of the men overpowering Jenny noticed that Emily's steady outright cried died away and the constant snickers from his comrades had ceased. He glanced back out of curiosity as she Casey turned to the larger group. The man raised an eyebrow and shouted, "Hey! What the hell is this?!" His loud voice carried over Jenny's grunts of struggle and altered the rest of the men's attention; all eyes were on Casey. "She got loose!" A different man stated the obvious. "Get her before she runs away!" A third man commanded.

"Release her-" Casey was going to give them the option of letting Jenny go, but one of men, smaller and more easily scared than the rest, had pointed a handgun at her and pulled the trigger. She was cut off by the recognizable noise as was the remaining men by Jenny.

There was a moment of silence as everyone stared at Casey in order to find where the bullet had pierced her. She turned her head and glared at the shaking man, gun still in hand.

"Jesus, Mark!" a man sounded from behind Jenny, "You fucking shot her!"

"Don't you see her eyes!" He defended himself while lowering the gun, "You all remember what she said, 'White in face, black in eyes. Pure in form, and darkest in heart!' Th-that's what she said! To kill her on site!" Mark's words were hesitant and unsure.

Another short pause for the men surrounding Jenny to study Casey; she didn't mind these stalls, it gave her a chance to think about how to lure them away from Jenny. Emily didn't see her shadows, now she had to make sure Jenny didn't.

"Holy shit," she heard a man whisper in astonishment, "It's her."

"Let us go, and no one else will get hurt," Casey couldn't imagine her fighting six men with a happy ending. Better to finish this stand off without any more injuries and lessen the risk of Jenny seeing her shadows.

"Get Lindsay," a man commanded to Mark.

The shaky man with a gun glanced at Casey, as if he needed her permission to leave.

"Don't," she said in the most authoritative tone.

Thankfully, Mark didn't move.

"Release her," Casey continued her demanding voice. Some of the men shifted uneasily, but they didn't unhand Jenny. "Now!" she shouted at them. All of them flinched terribly and immediately let their hands drop from Jenny.

Muttering Spanish swear words or prayers, she straightened herself and hurried past all of the men. As Jenny rushed to Casey, they shared a moment of intense staring; tears were already forming in her eyes from fear of being taken advantage of, but was she afraid of her? Casey was like this for her, to save her and Emily. She had to. It was the only way. Behind her stern face, Casey's heart stung with the look Jenny gave her. _Please don't hate me. Don't fear me. I'm still Kris, your friend._

Casey kept a piercing glare at the group of men still watching the girls intently as Jenny knelt down and coaxed Emily to get up. The Shadow Stranger gave them ample time to get her up before she moved again, this time towards the loading ledge. The garage was shut, but a quick examine provided that there wasn't anything that bolted it down. As Jenny carried Emily, Casey called upon her shadows one more time to boost her strength in order to push the garage door upward. Dull, lazy light entered the loading dock around the moving van. Jenny and Emily winced at the sudden increase of illumination but they eased themselves out. Again, Casey played the role of a guard dog as the two clambered out of the loading dock. She heard her friends shuffle a little and then a short lived silence.

"Kristen," Jenny called back with Emily hanging from her shoulder, "Let's get the hell out of here!"

_Something's wrong._ She knew there was something not being seen here. Something with Lindsay. _Her eyes were glowing yellow. She had my book and I couldn't read it. But I can still move the shadows, what am I missing?_ The Shadow Stranger had to know. And besides her nagging feeling, there was no guarantee that the men wouldn't run to Lindsay the moment they had the chance. That would put them in greater risk. _No, I have to stay and make sure they don't follow them back to the camp. I need to lure them away. _

One last look down at her friends, with a warm smile and soft face, Kris lightly shook her head. "Get her back to Barnett. He'll want to see her. And make sure you see Anthony and Gracia."

"No, you need to come-" Jenny began to argue.

"I'll be fine-"

"What do I tell Nathan?" She tried to use a sensitive approach to get Kris to leave with them. Smart move, it almost worked.

However, her quick wit helped her, "Tell him my heart belongs to Bucky."

Without another word, Kris grabbed the garage door and slammed it shut. _Just get back to the camp safely._ Through the steel stutters, she was able to vaguely hear their footsteps as they walked away. Now, all she had to do was stall them until Jenny got far enough away where the looters couldn't find them.

The Shadow Stranger turned on her heels to face the group of men. To her surprise, at the threshold leading into the hallway to the freezer, a newcomer stood. Dropped jaw, wide eyes, and slouched shoulders, Lindsay stared at Casey. _Shit, I was hoping for more time!_

"I heard a gunshot," Lindsay felt it necessary to explain herself, "I was worried." Slowly and with her long hair gently sweeping behind her back, she stepped onto the loading dock. With the biggest eyes Casey had ever seen, her hostess seemed infatuated by Casey's shadows. All The Shadow Stranger could do was tighten her stance and straighten her shoulders; what this insane woman was thinking, it wasn't going to be pleasant. "How did you do that?"

The group of men had backed away from both women; their backs were towards the wall and each would give an occasional glance to the hallway to make a run for freedom. Since her eyes were black, she was able to alternate from watching Lindsay and observing the men's nervous twitches. It was slightly amusing to her, however she didn't get a decent chance to appreciate their tweaks before Lindsay's voice broke the suspenseful silence.

"Witch!" Casey snapped to pay attention but it seemed to pleased Lindsay very little. "When I felt your heart, there was no darkness. Even took a longer look to make sure. But, here you are. Right under my nose. So, how did you mask the evil that fills your heart?"

Casey held her guard up as she half shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Liar!"

Faster than she could register, Lindsay threw up a stiff arm and pointed viciously at her. The hostess' eyes flashed bright yellow and the tips of her long brown hair lifted up lazily. All around the loading dock, there was a stutter of light among all of the bulbs. Casey didn't have time to react accordingly; so she was hit with a brute force. Erupting from Lindsay's fingertips, a flash of electricity shot out and zigzagged across the open floor. Being controlled by the awkwardly happy woman, the sudden bolt immediately struck Casey; by the immense speed, and the dropped guard, The Shadow Stranger was shot back and slammed into the garage door. Her body left a large dent when she slid down the unhindered parts. Casey's fingers and ankles twitched lightly with the surge of electricity that had passed through her body. It was twelve times worse than those SHIELD and HYDRA devices. But, as soon as the bolt hit her, it was gone. Her slightly spastic limbs were the only visible signs of her near execution. With chattering teeth and tense muscles, Casey forced her gaze at Lindsay. _What the hell is this?_

"Lying is a sin," she straightened herself and patted down her frizzy hair. "Especially in the eyes of our Lord."

"You're fucking crazy," Casey growled out when she had control over her trembling lips.

"He also frowns upon profanity," she explained.

"That's a fucking shame," underneath her eye there was a twitch of anger, not from the bolt.

"You really need to learn some manners."

"You need to go piss off."

Casey was no longer getting pleasure from talking to this insane woman. Placing her hand on the garage door, she willed a portal open behind her. She clambered backward until she was completely. Lindsay had shouted for her to stop, but of course, she wasn't going to take orders from her. There was a scurry from the group of men to retrieve their weapons; Mark had even shot at her again. Thank God he was a terrible shot. What they didn't know was that Casey wasn't leaving their hideout; she opened the portal back into the freezer.

When she staggered in, she immediately shut it. Casey remembered the simple layout to Lindsay's arctic office and rushed to the huge armchair at the far end. With a stuttering breath, she grabbed the thickly bond book and willed another portal. Now, she was leaving, with her book and back onto the streets. Realistically, it was a stupid idea; the men and Lindsay could hunt her down if she exposed herself. But, her next goal was to get Emily and Jenny back to their camp safely. And maybe get back to Bucky. At least have her friends deliver the message. It would be a good way to die; protecting her friends. In the back of her mind, Casey had no idea she could control electricity too.


	17. Chapter 17

Her book was tucked in her armpit as she hobbled down the street. Lining the massive buildings around her, she could tell that the sun was setting. _Great, spent the entire day with looters instead of getting supplies._ Casey stayed within arm's reach of any sturdy support as she attempted to find Jenny and Emily. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to give them the head start they deserved. While she glanced around for street signs or notable landmarks, the need for her shadows disappeared and her eyes blinked away to green once again. As she staggered down the street, her heart was beating incredibly fast and an occasional twitch or shiver passed her body. That bolt of electricity was baffling; she had no idea such power could be controlled. How was she able to harness that electricity? Why wasn't Casey able to read anything about it in her book? Maybe she wasn't as powerful as she thought.

"You've got to be kidding me!" a heavily accented Spanish voice shouted in frustration. Casey immediately followed the source and turned a corner to find Jenny loomed over broken police barriers. Emily was sitting like a sack of potatoes at the foot of her Latina friend. "Those fuckers are already out? I told that crazy-ass girl to come with us."

"I'm here!" Kris hushed to her friends.

Both altered their gaze to her; Emily had puffy eyes and a red face while Jenny held an esteem of attitude.

Kris shook off more of the electricity current through her body and rushed over to them.

"How did you get away?" Emily asked through silent tears.

From the increased momentum and the lasting effects of such an electrical burst, her entire body had a spasm and she collapsed onto the street just in front of her friends. Jenny jumped from her small perch and slid to her side. Emily simply sat and covered her mouth with her hands. Kris' body stiffened and her muscles began to convulse. While on her knees, Jenny placed her hands on her arms, attempting to sooth the spasms. For a moment, Kris' eyes glazed over and rolled into the back of her head; she was having a seizure.

"Shit, shit shit!" Jenny pushed her hair back behind her ears as she watched helplessly as Kris was suffering. "What do I do?" Her initial question wasn't directed at anyone. "What the hell do I do?!" Jenny turned to her sobbing friend in need for answers.

Emily only covered her ears and began to shake her head.

"Damnit! You've talked to those nurses for hours, what do I have to do to stop this?"

"I-I can't be here. I want to go back-"

Jenny broke Emily's train of thought and shouted Spanish swear words at her. "Help me!"

"I don't know!" she confessed with large beads of rolling down her cheeks. "I"m just a damn housewife! This isn't suppose to happen to me!"

"Well, it's happening right fucking now!"

"I can't do anything!"

"What the nurses tell you if someone has a seizure?!"

"There's nothing you can do," a third voice emerged. Around the same corner as Kris, Lindsay appeared and slowly walked towards the three girls. With Kris powerless, Jenny and Emily were left to defend themselves. Jenny hopped up and immediately stood in front of her friends. That didn't hinder the long haired woman, she continued, "Seizures have to work themselves out. Nothing you can do will help her now."

"Get the hell outta here!" Jenny demanded.

"I have nothing against you two-"

"The hell you don't! You were going to let those pigs _have_ us! That's sick!"

"It was our agreed upon terms. I can't go back on my word," Lindsay took another step. Jenny obviously flinched and held up her fists. "I don't want you two hurt," her eyes darted from Jenny to Kris, "Her, on the other hand. She's evil. Born from the darkness shadow and raised in fire. If you knew what I know, then you would not defend her."

Jenny didn't have a quick answer, so the only thing they heard was Emily crying behind them. Lindsay kept her large eyes narrowed at Kris, half-expecting her to jump up and attack again. The Hispanic woman followed her gaze and stared at the seizing woman, praying that she would have black eyes and protect them once more. The Shadow Stranger had finally stopped violently twitching and simply remained on her side to take in shallow breaths. Thankfully, her eyes closed and she looked less terrifying than when her eyes were rolled back.

"Please step aside," Lindsay's happy tone was harsh and commanding.

"No," Jenny centered herself between them.

"I don't want to hurt you, but if you help that _witch_, then I will have no choice."

"Who are you to judge her? You know nothing about her!"

"I was chosen from God to cleanse the world of the likes of her. Did you not see that she was carrying that book? It belonged to me, and she has stolen it. She is guilty for worse crimes."

"Then you will have to go through me first."

"Then, I am deeply sorry, Jennifer."

Before Lindsay stepped again, she made eye contact with the Hispanic mother and inhaled loudly. Her large eyes blinked once and the pigment immediately changed to glowing yellow. Staring directly into her eyes held the same effect as if Jenny was looking into illuminated light bulbs. Realizing the sudden demeanor switch, Jenny instinctively held up her fists again, however she was nearly petrified. Seeing Kris' black eyes was one thing, but Lindsay's eyes were literally glowing with power. What was she suppose to do?

The crazily-driven woman with glowing eyes lifted a slightly flexed hand towards the three girls. With a blank face and straight posture, the tips of her long hair lazily stood up around her. Jenny held her breath and watched intently as to what was about to happen. Emily had bit her tongue and ceased her tears for a moment. If Kris was awake, then she would have stood tall to protect her friends; alas, she was still suffering from the after effects of the seizure. For a moment, the world stopped; everything seemed to move in slow motion as Lindsay focused her electricity throughout her body and concentrated to the tips of her extended fingers. There was a small crack of thunder as lightning shot from her manicured nails.

Then, there was a shift. A swirl of wind uplifted trash and small debris from behind the police barriers. The footsteps were soundless and the movements were swift and precise. In a fraction of a second, Jenny, Emily and Kris' death was certain; and then it wasn't.

Lindsay had slipped up by her uncontrollable urge to "rid the world of darkness," as there was a second threat. If she wasn't blinded by her rage and righteousness, she would have sensed something rapidly approaching her.

He lunged at her from the shadows and baring teeth. The speed was unfathomably fast and as a result, Lindsay's lightning strike altered its course and struck the police barriers. The three women were saved; for the time being.

From the bolt of nearby lightning and this new presence, Kris jolted awake. She gasped for air as if her head was held under the water. A throbbing head and slight disorientation did not stop her from rolling onto her belly to quickly jump up. It was a strange sensation; like a bad feeling from the pit of her stomach. Her shadows were warning her that someone was close, but who? Her inner darkness sprang to life as her eyes blinked to black and her mind immediately pointed out every shadow on the street. However, her defensive habits did not prepare her for what she was faced with.

Mere feet from her, Lindsay was being pinned by an unknown creature. Razor sharp fangs were clearly visible along with its piercing white eyes. Everything about this beast was pure darkness; it seemed to have no physical shape, as bits of black smoke lingered around the edges of the creature and faded away. What Kris assumed were the muscles were bulging and thick, while the joints of the knees were twisted backwards. The legs were lean and long, which indicated that it could run incredibly fast. The arms were wrong; two sets could be identified, but trying to see where they were attached was impossible. The core, torso, or chest of this shadow creature was nothing less than a ball of unfocus shadow. On top, almost as if it was levitating over the shadow mass, was a horrific head. Large, undefined features, and an unnecessarily stretch of fangs lined inside the massive mouth. A unhinged jaw of a snake would be a better description.

Using two hands, the shadow creature had Lindsay against the base of a building. Kris saw how close they were and hesitated on her next move. Jenny and Emily were both stunned to silence as the beast leaned in close to Lindsay and roared. Immediately, Kris recognized the sound; this was the same thing that attacked the red and gold soldiers by her house. She could never forget such a roar from this creature. At the end of the deafening sound, the beast seemed to hiss at the yellow eyed woman; the change in the tone snapped Kris out of her daze enough for her to come to one conclusion. Get Jenny and Emily back to their camp.

Without missing a step, she grabbed Jenny's forearm and yanked her back. Luckily, both of their attention was on the shadow creature and Lindsay, so Kris quickly willed the nearby shadows into a long distance portal. "Go, go," she quietly demanded to them. The two were fear-stricken to the point of absolute silence and easily followed her orders to walk through the police barrier into the spa level of their skyscraper. Emily resorted to crawling through while Jenny stepped backwards to ensure her eyes were still on the unknown beast. Just before Kris was going to join them, she glanced back at the two monsters locking eyes. She saw Lindsay's hair begin to rise again, however this time it was much more dramatic. Not wanting to risk her safety, or her friends, Kris obtained her nearby book and jumped through her portal.

She nearly landed on Emily, but Kris rolled around and quickly cut off her shadow connection between the spa and the police barriers. Her portal swirled away just as Lindsay's voice shouted in rage. Outside the spa windows, there was a blast from a few streets over. A lightning strike shot upward into the hazy clouds and a shock wave of electrical energy expanded outward to the far reaches of the city. Once the shock wave hit the building, the structure shook and the glass rattled and shattered. The light bulbs exploded and the outlets seemed to shoot out little bits of electricity. The three woman fell to their knees and covered their head from the freshly destroyed glass. Over head, a few panels of dropped ceiling tiles fell off their support and broke upon reaching the floor. The wave passed within a minute and although it was powerful, the building's structural integrity was able to withstand the shock. Outside, high in the sky, the clouds were having small bursts of lightning in miscellaneous places.

Inside the spa, Kris, Jenny, and Emily waited a while before they felt it safe to remove their hands. Kris was the first to lower her hands and began to glance around her surroundings. Jenny's back was dotted with blood from shallow shards of glass. Emily was wrapped in the smallest ball she thought possible. Thankfully, Kris couldn't see any sign of injury on her. Blinking away her shadows, she placed a hand on both of them.

"It's okay," she whispered, "We're good. We're back."

Jenny peered under her messy hair and examined the area. After a moment of realizing where she was, she turned to Kris. The Shadow Stranger shifted a little at the look Jenny was giving her; she couldn't tell what the context was regarding her eyes. Before she could vocalize her question, Jenny sprang up and wrapped her arms around Kris in a tight hug. She was muttering in Spanish again, but she was able to tell that she was grateful. Finally, Jenny broke down in tears.

"I would never let anything happen to you-"

"Anthony," she released Kris and pushed herself up, "Gracia." Jenny began to call after her children as she staggered to the fire exit and down the stairs.

"Emily," Kris altered her attention from the door to her remaining friend. "You can look now, we're safe." The woman was crying again, and this time Kris wasn't sure why. Her immediate thought was that she was hurt from whatever that shock wave was; so she helped her to lean against the wall. Kris checked her clothes for blood stains, searched for broken bones, and gently combed over her scalp to see if she hit her head; there was nothing. Well, she sustained minor bruises from when the men were holding her down, but other than that, she was fine. "What's wrong? Tell me what hurts."

"We're not safe," she whispered under her breath.

Kris raised an eyebrow at her friend from her pessimistic observation.

"We'll never be safe."

She wasn't dealing well to the creature and Lindsay's eyes. Hell, she was handling this situation quite well considering her husband had brainwashed her into believing her that The Avengers weren't real. This woman was sheltered her entire life from the hardships, poverty was never an issue growing up, never relied on public transportation, and definitely never felt helpless. She faced one of the most horrible sides of humans; it was no wonder she was traumatized. However, she was correct, they were not safe. Seattle was now a lost city and they had to get out. Not because of the looters, but because of Lindsay and that beast. Kris knew she was just as bad as those two, but she continuously chose to spare lives rather than take them. Seven hundred and eighty six was enough.

"C'mon, let's find your husband," Kris wasn't sure how to handle her break down, so she reasoned that her husband, the college professor who teaches psychology, would be more qualified to help her. And the back of her mind, all she wanted was to find Bucky.

Aiding her out of the fire exit, Kris practically carried Emily down the stairs. She wouldn't have mind so much if she wasn't suffering from a bolt of electricity and a seizure. But, anything for her friends. Their footsteps were heavy with fatigue and broken spirits. By the time Kris and Emily touched onto the office floor, a small horde of people were already at the door. Right in front was Barnett, muttering a prayer of gratitude to God. Kris wanted to put him in his place, to explain that she was the one who brought them back, not anyone else. However, she Barnett embraced his wife, Kris' body wasn't expecting the sudden absence of her and crumpled into the frame. Hazy spots covered her vision and her ears began to ring loudly. With a shallow breath and uncoordinated limbs, she rested her head the best she could and nearly passed out from exhaustion.

Before her mind drifted away, a pair of large hands grabbed her forearms and lightly shook her. Kris' green eyes were barely open just as she was pulled into a tight hug. She was too weak to return such an embrace, but she attempted to lazily wrap her arms around whoever was hugging her awake. Her nerves seemed extra sensitive to the touch as she got chills from this person. At first, she thought it was little Marissa, but the body was much too big for that. Lightly rubbing the back, she felt tough muscles and something slightly raised around the left shoulder. She pried her eyes to open more in order to see who this stranger was; it was no surprise that it was Bucky. More energy shot through her body as she realized and pressed her arms harder into him. She had never felt more relieved. This was the first time in a long while that she was crying for a positive reason. For the first time in years, she felt safe.

"Princess!" the innocent voice of Marissa was heard over Bucky's shoulder, "Why are you crying?"

The two pulled apart a little; Kris glanced to the child and Bucky to examine her eyes. "I'm just really happy," she answered with a tired smile. She then looked at The Winter Soldier; he was intently studying her face and he seemed a little confused.

Just as she was going to ask him his emotions, outside the building, there was a deafening howl. Everyone in the fire escape and office floor froze and glanced outward to the source. Kris knew that it was from the beast. Did that mean he had won or lost? Was Lindsay still alive or did she escape? Kris wanted to know exactly how many monsters they had to deal with. Then, she remembered her book.

While the group was muttering to themselves, Kris lightly tugged on Bucky's shirt to gain his attention. Once he turned to her, she quietly asked, "I need to show you something, in the spa," she nodded upward.

"Can you walk?" It seemed like a stupid question, but there was no way Kris would be able to climb all those stairs again. So, she shook her head. Without another word, Bucky easily scooped her up in his arms and began to step upwards.

With his strong legs, it didn't take long before they entered the spa. Glass was scattered on the ground of this floor as well as the office and any other landing. Kris guessed that all of the windows in the immediate area of the shock wave were shattered. She was still fascinated by the immense power Lindsay had. Too bad she would never get a chance to figure out how to harness the power of electricity.

"You used your shadows," Bucky seemed to point out rather than ask her.

Casey sighed deeply and felt on the approaching disappointment from him. "Yes, I had to. Otherwise, Jenny and Emily would have gotten hurt; in more ways than one."

He was silent. Casey knew that he was always quiet when he was angry or upset. For a moment, he stood still with her in his arms in the middle of the wreckage of the spa. She expected this response, but it was hard to accept his speechlessness this time. His demeanor around him was enough for Casey to understand that he was frustrated with her. It was okay; Jenny and Emily were alright for the time being.

Bucky remained quiet as he took a step to the couches in the lobby. Gingerly, he lowered Kris onto the sofa and slid his arms away from her, but loomed over her. She glanced up with big eyes; she was not ashamed of her actions. He knelt close to her but she didn't flinch. They were alive because of her shadows.

As fate would have it, she quickly realized that he wasn't upset; rather, his sudden passionate kiss surprised her. Cupped her head in one hand, Bucky gave much needed support for her. It wasn't a long kiss, but it was definitely relieving to Casey. After the intimate moment, they rested their foreheads on each other and took a moment to simply enjoy each other's company.

"I thought you would be mad," Casey confessed.

"Because you saved people?" he asked sarcastically.

"You made me swear not to use my shadows," she defended.

"My judgement was wrong," he admitted.

"Damn straight," she reclined her head in order to look him in his blue eyes.

He took a minute to easily gaze into her green orbs; Casey could sense him relaxing. When he finally spoke, he had choose to change the subject, "What did you want to show me?"

She glanced around the glass shards and found her book lying upon the debris of ceiling panels. "There, the book." She pointed at the large dark mass.

Bucky quickly retrieved it and began to look all over the cover.

"The looters had this woman named Lindsay. She's off her shit, absolutely crazy. Saying insane stuff like she was chosen by God to find me and kill me. I'm not sure how, but she was able to get my book. But, she was reading it. I don't know if you remembered when I showed that to you the first time, but only one person can read it at a time. And," she swallowed her fear and stammering to continue, "I think I'm going to die. She was able to use electricity and I haven't reached that far in the book; so, I think she's my successor."

Bucky thumbed through a few pages, traced the back spine of the book, then shut it. Turning to Casey, he raised an eyebrow at her. "Your successor?"

"It was written that when a Shadow Master can no longer control the darkness, a successor will be chosen. It wasn't clear what happens to the previous Masters."

"How?"

"How, what?" she repeated. "The book picks anyone at random."

"No," he walked over to her and sat on the opposite edge of the sofa, giving her room to stretch her tender legs. "I mean, how can she be your successor when she can use electricity? You're a _Shadow_ Master. It's that kinda the opposite?"

Casey pondered this thought for a moment. Her eyes darted back and forth, hoping to find the answer among to the broken glass. Honestly, that question never occurred to her. "But, she was able to read it-" then she caught herself, suddenly unsure of her initial idea.

"She can't be, she would need to control shadows, right?"

"Unless she's already more powerful than me." It was a weak argument, but it was all she had.

Bucky simply shook his head and held up the book. "I might not remember all of our time together in D.C., but I recall being in that basement. The book on your table was not this one. It was heavier, thicker, and a different material on the cover. The pages even feel wrong."

Finally, the dots were all connected.

"Oh God, there are other books."

* * *

**((So sorry for the long wait my loyal fans! Please, accept this chapter as a token of apology :3**

**Hopefully I'll have more time for the future chapters rather than a 5 month hiatus .'))**


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